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John Edwards judgment highly questionable (Amanda Marcotte)
From our "it's the small things, ain't it" department comes the news that the John Edwards campaign has brought on Amanda Marcotte as their "Blogmaster". Marcotte is a contributor to the site pandagon.net, and has all the grasp of current events, rationality, and decorum of a schizophrenic, homeless, "History of Womyn's Studies" major. (No offense meant to those who are schizophrenic or homeless.)
There are at least a few leftwing bloggers who are capable of digging into a subject, and at least a few who are mostly rational. The fact that the Edwards campaign would choose Marcotte is an early indicator that they have absolutely no clue.
You can read a sample post here (my reply is under the name "IllegalImmigrationIntroduction") and more past instances of her brilliant thinking here: pandagon.net/author/administrator
UPDATE: "Shakes" from "Shakespeare's Sister" has joined the Edwards campaign as their "Netroots Coordinator". In contrast to Marcotte, she's just a deluded "liberal".
2/2/07 UPDATE: That didn't take long. As detailed in this barely-coherent post, Marcotte has been caught trying to scrub just one of the embarassing posts from pandagon.
2/4/07 UPDATE: Someone spent five minutes or so compiling just some of her more embarassing idiotic statements here.
Posted to Bloggage at 09:17 PM | Comments (2)
The "Missouri-Kansas Coalition Against Racism, Anti-Semitism and Bigotry"
The "Missouri-Kansas Coalition Against Racism, Anti-Semitism and Bigotry" is a new coalition that's fighting against those "vigilantes" who want to enforce our immigration laws, specifically the Minuteman Project. The AP blurb is - to my complete surprise - slightly balanced:Organizers said 700 people in Kansas and Missouri have signed a coalition statement "rejecting the politics of fear, hatred and armed vigilantism."Now, I know what you're thinking: how can these groups claim to be against bigotry when they forgot to include "...Against Homophobia, Xenophobia, Hate, and Mean-Spiritedness" in their title? I'm assuming they wanted to, but that would cause their printing costs to skyrocket so they got an exemption to use the short form.
Angela Ferguson, an immigration lawyer who organized the coalition, said the group opposes what they called anti-immigration groups such as the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps, which patrols the border and reports illegal immigrants to authorities.
But, seriously. Their homepage is at www.newcomm.org/carab, and no one in their right mind should sign their pledge due to their various untrue or misleading claims. For instance, the claim that the "Minuteman Civil Defense Corps... advocates the denial of basic human rights". The commonly-accepted definition of "human rights" does not include the right to cross the U.S. border at will, despite what some on the far-left think. If they have evidence of that assertion, they should present it (or be sued).
Those listed as signing on (as of October) are:
* Olathe Unit of the NAACPIn fact, their site is hosted at the latter's site and, as detailed at the last link, I suspect them of spamming that entry although I don't know whether the spammer is/was a member of the group or just a fan. More here:
* Kansas Families United for Public Education
* Westside Community Action Network Center, Inc.
* Jewish Community Relation Bureau/American Jewish Committee Gina Kaiser, Chair Marvin Szneler, Executive Director Judy Hellman, Associate Director
* Father Pat Murphy, c.s., Animator of Hispanic Ministry, Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas
* Shalom Catholic Worker House, Kansas City, KS
* Kansas City Worker Justice Project
* Institute for Research and Education on Human Rights
* Center for New Community
"The way that we solve problems in a democracy is not by creating fear or by creating racism but by sitting down and trying to reach an agreement that will satisfy all parties," said Henry E. Lyons of Olathe's NAACP...This article says:
"We ask others to join us in rejecting those extremists and stand with us. This country has the room and the need for people who want to make it a better place," said Judy Hellman of the Jewish Community Relations Bureau...
"The Minutemen, Federation for American Immigration Reform, US Inc. and other types of vigilante groups, they claim to be patriots, but they have an underlying racist agenda that's aimed at all Hispanics and have a negative impact on all people of color," Ferguson said...
The coalition includes civil-rights activists, religious leaders and the Local Service Employees International Union...
Seiu City Director Sherwin Carroll said, "If this nation and this economy is going to be what it truly is, let's set aside racism and bigotry and help immigrants get some reform that will provide a reward for their hard work in this country."The new group's roots seem to go back to around March 2005 (preview.tinyurl.com/mw82k). An AryanNations leader had set up a P.O. Box in Kansas City and various groups organized meetings. But then the leader left the group so their group was no longer needed:
"It was agreed that the urgency of the meeting had passed, but that the planning group would stay together as perhaps the nucleus of a new civil rights coalition. Our ad hoc name is the Coalition Against Racism, Anti-Semitism and Bigotry," said [Judy Hellman].Why spoil a perfectly good coalition, when it can be repurposed to oppose not a violent, racist group but those who simply want to enforce our laws?
More recently (preview.tinyurl.com/3c4pco):
On Tuesday, January 23, 2007 at 9:00 a.m., two buses of Kansas Citians left from the Guadalupe Centers, Inc., bound for Topeka, Kansas and Jefferson City, Missouri. The group included representatives of several nonprofit organizations, immigrant leaders, faith groups, students, and labor union members. [quotes Melinda Lewis, Director of Policy Advocacy and Research at El Centro, Inc... ...they met with legislators... ...quotes Angela Ferguson... ...quotes Martha Ramirez, grassroots organizer with Sons & Daughters of Immigrants of Kansas City, Missouri... unknowns Nora Reyna Brown and Richard Morado are quoted... quotes Mike Talboy, Missouri state representative from the 37 district. The latter sounds like a supporter, but his remarks are somewhat indistinguishable from stroking them along.]
Posted to Immigration2007a at 02:04 PM | Comments (2)
Boycott Desert Schools Credit Union
Desert Schools Credit Union (desertschools.org) - the largest in Arizona - is explicitly marketing accounts to illegal aliens. If you have an account there, please move it somewhere else and let them know why you're doing that.The details on their scheme are provided here:
...The state's largest credit union is bracing for similar fallout [to that of insignificant issue of the pesos-for-pizzas company] as it begins marketing savings accounts to undocumented immigrants.It's so good that they're concerned about our laws.
Officials at Desert Schools Credit Union say the potential reward - thousands of new customers - justifies the risk of angering a few customers. Ignoring the state's fastest-growing population could be the equivalent of corporate suicide, one business expert said...
...The credit union offers reassurances that account holders will still have access to the funds, even if they're deported, [Emma Garcia, Desert Schools director of community development] said, a fear that with the passage of legislation like Proposition 200 is becoming more prevalent within the Hispanic community.
"They're afraid that that institution will partner with the Department of Homeland Security and report to them who's in an undocumented situation or not," Garcia said. "We're not going to be required to notify an agency if we find out they're undocumented. We're not required by law to do that."
Another quote source in the article is Ruben Ramos, director of public affairs with Arvizu Advertising and Promotions and a former chairman of the Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. He's also a former Bank One vice president who helped lead the fight against Proposition 200. His involvement with the credit union is unclear, but he's quoted as saying:
"Fundamentally, I don't see anything negative that might be associated with what the credit union is trying to do, if people have a broader context about what the alternatives are for this segment of the population."As you might expect, JJ Hensley of the Arizona Republic doesn't provide any balance to the article by suggesting the major negative involved here: Desert Schools is profiting from behavior which is illegal, and it's horrible public policy to allow companies to profit from illegal activity. When a company finds a profit center, they tend to take actions to keep making a profit. That may put DS in the position of encouraging illegal immigration in order to make even more money, such as by supporting open borders candidates like Kyrsten Sinema.
And, why stop at illegal aliens? Don't drugrunners and people traffickers have even more money? Should Desert Schools go after that market as well?
Posted to Immigration2007a at 05:25 AM | Comments (2)
Iowa: "National Summit on Immigration" on February 26
If you're in Iowa, there will be a "National Summit on Immigration" in Marshalltown on February 26. I don't have any further information on it, but considering it's in Iowa some presidential candidates might show up. I strongly urge everyone to attend if possible and try to ask tough questions of those candidates and others who support amnesty. Publicly embarassing someone like Bill Richardson would be a great way to make immigration issues a part of the upcoming campaigns.
You need a reservation to attend, and in order to get that you need to mail in an SASE by Feb. 16 as described here.
UPDATE: They changed the process to get tickets, so I updated the link.
Posted to Immigration2007a at 02:14 AM | Comments (1)
"Peace" protest, Washington DC, January 27, 2007
On Saturday, thousands of "peace" protesters clogged the Capitol to protest the Iraq war. Everyone who's everyone was there: Jane Fonda, Sean Penn, Susan Sarandon, Code Pink, and so forth. Without checking, I'm going to guess it was largely organized by ANSWER (Stalinists are great with set-up and break-down) and was attended by the CPUSA, World Can't Wait, the Revolutionary Communist Party, and representatives of the Democrat Party as well.
The festivities continued to today, with members of Code Pink - including the ubiquitous Susan "Medea" Benjamin - protesting Hillary Clinton's war stance in front of her office. Several members of the group were arrested.
There are various pictures of the big protest here, including the following charming person. Check out the other posts in this category for my 2003 reports from various L.A. "peace" protests.
Posted to ThePeaceMovement at 09:14 PM | Comments (2)
NORTHCOM at North American Forum: "evolution by stealth"
Back in September, a semi-secret meeting of the "North American Forum" was held in Canada, and several very highly-placed supposed U.S. citizens attended, including a few from the U.S. Northern Command (NORTHCOM):* NORTHCOM Commander, Admiral Timothy Keating
* Political Advisor Deborah Bolton
* Plans, Policy & Strategy Director Major General Mark Volcheff
Now, Judicial Watch has obtained their notes with an FOIA request:
...The North American Forum presentations discussed immigration and border enforcement; full economic and energy integration including infrastructure and transportation; a North American investment fund; and common customs and duties. The idea of a carbon tax was raised as a means to combat so-called global warming. References to the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP) occur throughout the documents.Has there been a coup that we weren't informed of? If military officials are discussing creating a supra-national entity in such terms, it's long past time for Congress to step into their designated role and look into this issue.
The notes for the presentations document the need to overcome popular opposition to North American integration: "To what degree does a concept of North America help/hinder solving problems between the three countries? ...While a vision is appealing working on the infrastructure might yield more benefit and bring more people on board ('evolution by stealth')."
Posted to NAU at 02:09 PM | Comments (3)
Rudy Giuliani and his super-tough, Tancredo-like immigration plan
Kathryn Jean Lopez ("KLo") at The Corner is apparently a supporter of Rudy Giuliani, someone whose immigration views are probably similar to those of George Bush.She says:
A friend of mine ["the rare pro-life, Hollywood hawk"] was at a fundraiser for [Rudy Julliani] in Los Angeles last night ["sponsored by Bill Simon"]...Nobody expects an exam! Those illegal aliens thought they could come here and get away scot-free, but Rudy's got something else in mind! His fiendishly diabolical plan is to administer a... test! But, not just any test... an English proficiency test! Then - and only then - will Rudy give them their citizenship. BWAH HAH HAH HAH!
...[Rudy Juliani] did an immigration bit that was "to the right of everyone else except maybe Tancredo. He talked about immigration in terms of national security. He said we needed to revamp our entire system so that we can get good people. He also said that if the twelve million already here expected to get any type of citizenship they would have to prove that they could read, write, and speak English."
Rudy's fiendish plan will surely deter the millions of prospective illegal aliens who'll come here for the next amnesty! They will not dare breach our defenses for fear of having to sit a minor proficiency exam! Rudy is truly a great genius and the thinker of our time!
Posted to Politics at 01:59 PM | Comments (2)
New Haven's John DeStefano helps feds profit from illegal activity
John DeStefano is the mayor of New Haven, Connecticut, a city that CT or the federal government should consider investigating and temporarily taking over if necessary. He has links to the non-profit group "JUNTA for Progressive Action", and that group is collaborating with the Mexican government.Since we last checked in with this situation, Kica Matos - former executive director of Junta - is now "City Hall's new immigrant policy guru and mayoral staffer". She is or was the wife of Henry Fernandez, DeStefano's campaign manager in his failed bid to be governor of their state. Laura Huizar - formerly the program coordinator for economic development at Junta - now leads the group.
And, DeStefano has now announced that the city's Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program - which helps low-income people file tax returns - is open to illegal aliens. And, both Matos (bear in mind, a City Hall staffer) and Junta will be reaching out to those illegal aliens to get them in the program.
The city's popular tax assistance program, formed by this public-private coalition, helped 773 New Haven residents claim $1.8 million in refunds and tax credits last year, and hopes to expand its volunteer base to serve 1,000 this year, according to City Hall.We're also treated to the charming thoughts of the mayor:
VITA added another feature: Low-income people can sign up for an IDA (individual development account), where each dollar they save will by matched by two dollars from Empower New Haven.
Why would undocumented immigrants volunteer to file taxes, especially when they don't qualify for social security benefits or the federal Earned Income Tax Credit, a tax break for the working poor?
Many already pay taxes and might hope for a tax refund.
Others are "hoping that in some point in time" the U.S. would pass a law granting citizenship to undocumented immigrants who've been living here for a certain number of years. Tax receipts would not only prove residency but also strengthen their case for citizenship, explained City Hall's new immigrant policy guru and mayoral staffer, Kica Matos.
The program's expansion to include the undocumented follows in the vein of the city's new immigrant protection policy, which allows immigrants to call police without fear of deportation.
"If you're a member of the community, you're working in the community, you're enjoying the benefits of the community, and you should pay taxes in the community... We're going to help folks do that, explain how they can do that, and not feel threatened that they're somehow being turned into immigration as a result."Have you ever done something, knowing what you were doing was not just wrong but a bit sleazy? I'm sure that at least one or two people present might have gotten that uneasy feeling somewhere during the proceedings, perhaps here:
Can they be assured they won't be deported? "There are no assurances," replied Matos. An IRS (Internal Revenue Services) spokeswoman didn't return a request for comment as to whether the IRS shares the ITIN list with the Department of Homeland Security, which handles immigration issues.UPDATE: The New Haven Independent approved and then later deleted the following comment I left on the article:
Matos said her research showed the IRS and homeland security office have been "reluctant" to get into each other's business concerning ITIN participants. In the ITIN's eight years of existence, only two instances have come up where ITIN filers ended up in trouble with immigration officials, Matos said.
If you live in CT, please contact your state reps and governor and urge them to investigate and consider temporarily taking over New Haven:
- Junta is collaborating with the Mexican government (tinyurl.com/2f973c)
- DeStefano has links to Junta, including his former campaign managed being married to their former exec director (Matos) and Matos now working for City Hall
- Matos and Junta will be "reaching out" to illegal aliens to get them into a "city-backed" program
Posted to Immigration2007a at 11:09 AM | Comments (1)
Useful idiot watch: Minnesota gets Mexican propaganda textbooks
The Mexican government is well aware of the "liberal" (read: weak) impulses of many of our citizens, and deviously takes advantage of them. One of the ways they do that is to use useful idiots (as well as Mexican partisans) to distribute Mexican propaganda to schoolchildren in the U.S., whether Mexican citizens or not.The latest example comes from Minnesota, and is reported by the Star-Tribune's Heron Marquez Estrada. That person was identified here (same cite in this PDF and here) as being a Mexican citizen and legal permanent resident in 1995. Whether he's changed his status is not known, but the article is simply pro-Mexico propaganda:
Mary Kay Feltes will get a present Wednesday as part of an unusual foreign aid package from Mexico.If you'd like to politely let Ms. Feltes know that she's a useful idiot: marykay *at* owatonna.info
"I can't wait to open the box and see what's inside," said Feltes, assistant director of the Owatonna Public Library -- one of 82 organizations around the state that will receive a box of 55 Mexican textbooks.
The books will be given to school districts, libraries, community centers, universities and penitentiaries throughout Minnesota and northern Wisconsin.Needless to say, Marquez Estrada doesn't disclose what viewpoint those books might present, such as the claim that the U.S. southwest rightfully belongs to Mexico.
The books, all in Spanish, are similar to those used in Mexico, covering everything from social sciences to mathematics. However, these books were produced by the Mexican government specifically for Mexicans abroad, especially the hundreds of thousands in the United States.
Another useful idiot chimes in:
Chris Correa [phone: 952-496-5095], director of curriculum and instruction for the Shakopee School District, said the books will help schools better address the needs of growing Mexican and Latino student populations.The books will be handed over on Wednesday, and those present include Mexican Consul Nathan Wolf and St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman (no apparent relation to Norm). You can let him know what you think at: mayor *at* ci.stpaul.mn.us And, please write readerrep *at* startribune.com with your thoughts on their propaganda.
She said Shakopee, which has more than 800 Hispanic children in its schools, has tried for years to buy materials that "value original cultures."It will be nice to get the Mexican perspective on world and historical events," Correa said. "This is a connection we've wanted to pursue."
UPDATE: Carol Washington (Communications Associate/Constituent Services for St. Paul's mayor) responds to my email:
Thank you for sharing your concerns with the Mayor about the generous donation from the Mexican government.Oh, how wonderful. Of course, many or most of the recipients are public entities and not all cater to adults, and Washington didn't answer my question regarding vetting the books for anti-American propaganda. Maybe someone from the "Strib" will do that. Uh huh.
The books will be donated to organizations that have sought them. They have not been imposed on any group or individual. They were offered by the Mexican government and voluntarily accepted by those that are coming forth to receive them.
We appreciate the cultures and values of all ethnicities in Saint Paul, and welcome the opportunity to celebrate them and learn from them.
Posted to Immigration2007a at 08:52 PM | Comments (10)
Mexican consulate given free reign of Border Patrol station?
From this (no permalink):
Local 2544 has credible reports that the Naco Station PAIC allowed Mexican Consulate personnel full, unsupervised access to illegal aliens being held at the Naco Border Patrol station. Mexican Consulate personnel were personally escorted into the Naco Border Patrol detention area by the PAIC, and were allowed to interview the witnesses of an officer-involved shooting BEFORE any law enforcement personnel interviewed them. The Mexican Consulate personnel were allowed to independently remove illegal aliens from their detention cells, move them around in the detention area, and otherwise act as though they owned the place. We must note that the last time we checked, the detention area at the Naco Border Patrol station was the property of the United States, it was a "secure" area intended for law enforcement operations, and was paid for by American taxpayers. Allowing the Mexican Consulate personnel full and unsupervised physical access to the Border Patrol detention building is not only a grave security risk, but it's disgraceful. There have been numerous reports of the Naco station PAIC kowtowing to Mexican government officials, as well as calling illegal aliens "my people" and telling area ranchers that they "stole" their land from Mexico...
Posted to Immigration_consul at 01:44 PM | Comments (1)
Tamar Jacoby reiterates pro-busboy, pro-gardener stance
Tamar Jacoby debated Mark Krikorian of CIS at the National Review Institute's Conservative Summit over the weekend. Here's her thinking:"I'll never forget the Border Patrol agent who said to me, 'If another 9/11 happens and it happens on my watch because I'm chasing your next busboy or my next gardener, I'll never forgive myself,'" Jacoby said.Needless to say, Krikorian demolished what little argument she brought to the table.
"Let's give those busboys and gardeners a legitimate way to come and then the only people trying to swim across the river will be terrorists and swindlers and the border guards can go after them."
Jacoby called the current system "a nudge nudge, wink wink system of unrealistic law that we don't really enforce" and called on elected officials to "bring our laws a little bit more in line with reality."
And, as detailed at the second link, the quote from the BP agent sounded an awful like similar blather from Bush and the Wall Street Journal, although which came first isn't clear. David Brooks and John Fund have parroted Jacoby. See the third link for just a few of the ways her fantasy of a "guest" worker scheme ending illegal immigration would fail. And, the problem isn't with our current laws, the problem is with our current politicians who refuse to enforce our laws or exercise their oversight duty of making sure that our laws are enforced. Rather than re-making our laws to fit the desires of corrupt politicians, I suggest exposing those corrupt politicians and driving them from office.
What's most distressing here is that Jacoby can offer such incredibly weak arguments and still be somewhat taken seriously.
Posted to Immigration2007a at 11:28 AM | Comments (4)
Casa de Maryland spokesman: an illegal alien?
CASA de Maryland is an odious publicly-funded group that operates day laborer centers and was involved in last year's illegal immigration marches. Among their many other accomplishments, their Executive Director, Gustavo Torres, threatened to picket the schools of the children of Minuteman Project members.
Now, this post directs us to this article about Maryland legislators trying to block driver's licenses for illegal aliens; the latter includes a quote from Casa spokesman Dario Muralles.
I haven't been able to confirm it, but the post says that a reliable source has informed them that Muralles is an illegal alien, although he might be trying to adjust his status. They say that he was cited for driving without a license in May of 2006, and he failed to appear.
The March 16, 2004 Capital News Service article "Immigrant Tuition Bill Gets Facelift, Diverse Support" strongly implies that he's "undocumented", as does 'Immigrants show their legislative power at "Noche de Accion"'.
In Casa's 2005 Annual Report (PDF), he's listed as the "Special Assistant to the Executive Director".
Considering that Casa receives public funding, it's incumbent on officials in the area to verify that Muralles is just a volunteer and is not employed by Casa. If you're in the area, please urge them to do that.
Posted to Immigration2007a at 08:48 AM | Comments (1)
Humanitarians: why do you support people falling under trains?
James C. McKinley Jr. of the New York Times offers "Migrants Stream Into South Mexico". It provides some details on prospective Central American illegal aliens to the U.S. getting robbed in Mexico and some of them hopping freight trains and falling under the wheels.
If you're one of those who supports illegal immigration out of "humanitarian" grounds, would you be so kind as to read the article and then come back here for some questioning?
Thanks! Let's get started:
1. If things continue as they are, and prospective illegal aliens know that as long as they can make it to the U.S. they'll almost certainly find work, social services, an illegal immigration-supporting infrastructure (such as the Catholic Church), and so forth, and they also know they probably won't get deported and might even get amnesty, won't people continue to try to make these journeys with some of them ending in disaster?
2. If immigration "reform" passes, won't that send an even stronger message than currently? Won't the conditions in #1 be multiplied by the strong possibility of yet another amnesty? Won't those who can't make it into the limited guest worker schemes come anyway, and won't some of those journeys end in disaster?
3. However, if we could wave a magic wand, and people in Central America suddenly did not see the U.S. as a safety valve, wouldn't that end all those journeys ending in disaster? And, wouldn't that also force their home countries to reform rather than using the U.S. as a safety valve and as a way to enrich themselves? And, while we can't wave a magic wand, isn't stringently enforcing our immigration laws the most effective way to achieve the same result?
Please think this through, and then when you see the light publicly ask your leaders who support illegal immigration on "humanitarian" grounds the same questions.
Posted to Immigration2007a at 05:33 AM | Comments (4)
Lobbying for immigration "reform"
Mike Madden of Gannett News has a brief round-up of the money that was spent lobbying for and against immigration "reform" in 2005 and the first part of 2006 here.According to a Gannett study, $3.3 million was spent in that period, and most of that was the pro side. They also mention the Center for Responsive Politics. Their raw data is here, but it looks like some of the dollar figures might include all lobbying an organization does, not just that related to immigration.
A sidebar shows some of those lobbying for and against the Senate amnesty. On the against side were NumbersUSA, National Border Patrol Council, U.S. Border Control, and Federation for American Immigration Reform with almost a million total.
On the for side were:
E. & J. Gallo Winery: $20,000
American Immigration Lawyers Association: $85,000
National Association of Manufacturers: $60,000
Coalition for Comprehensive Immigration Reform: $430,000 (members included National Council of La Raza, Service Employees International Union, UNITE Here, National Immigration Forum)
Essential Worker Immigration Coalition: $180,000
Chicago Celts for Immigration Reform: less than $10,000
Posted to Immigration2007a at 02:00 AM | Comments (1)
Kirk Caraway now opining at 3rd grade level (libertarians on immigration)
Kirk Caraway is the Internet Editor of the Nevada Appeal and apparently he's spent too much time alone in his cubicle reading old copies of Reason Magazine since he offers "If you can't stop illegal immigration, then legalize it":First, you have to stop the black market for labor. You do that by giving work permits to any immigrant who is not a felon.I notice a few minor issues with this scheme. Such as all the millions upon millions who'd come here to work, and then who couldn't find work and who'd end up overwhelming our social safety net. That would sooner rather than later become a major problem and we'd end up having to stop issuing permits. As soon as you stop issuing permits, you'd have to bring back the distinction between legal and illegal immigration. But, that distinction would have had to have been kept in place for all those who snuck over the border or who overstayed visitor visas.
Then you institute an immigration tax, where businesses would pay, say, 20 percent of any immigrant worker's salary to the government (split between federal, state and local) to help offset the costs of supporting these non-citizens.
Legalizing immigrant labor has many benefits. Immigrants who are not felons will not risk sneaking across the border - or paying smugglers - if they can come across legally, get their new free work permits, and be off on their merry way.
And, of course, the idea that all or most businesses would submit to a 20% tax when they could just hire black market labor as they do now is ludicrous. And, needless to say, all those millions and millions of new legal workers wouldn't just work: they'd impact our society such as by (just as an example) marching in our streets and making demands. And, they'd give political power inside the U.S. to the sending countries as our illegal aliens do now.
If there are any 4th or 5th grade teachers out there, please try a fun experiment by asking your class to see just how many holes they can punch into Caraway's thoughts.
Posted to Immigration2007a at 08:21 PM | Comments (1)
Macquarie buys Texas newspaper chain (Trans-Texas Corridor)
Macquarie is an Australian conglomerate that has interests in U.S. toll roads, including one in Indiana that it co-owns with the Spanish conglomerate Cintra. The latter company will operate the Trans-Texas Corridor, and one of Macquarie's subsidiaries has just bought a chain of 40 small Texas newspapers, some of which were critical of the TTC. Dallas Morning News President Jeremy L. Halbreich started the chain, and he'll stay on in a management capacity.
Now, certainly, this could just be a decision based on the profitability of that chain. Or, it could be an attempt to shape the local news in a way that will benefit their partner Cintra.
Posted to NAU at 11:38 AM | Comments (1)
Dirty Harry Reid: desert land deal lubricates legislation?
Surprisingly, the Los Angeles Times continues its multi-year effort to uncover "Dirty" Harry Reid scandals. The latest comes in "A deal in the desert for Sen. Reid?" by Chuck Neubauer and Tom Hamburger:...In 2002, Reid (D-Nev.) paid $10,000 to a pension fund controlled by Clair Haycock, a Las Vegas lubricants distributor and his friend for 50 years. The payment gave the senator full control of a 160-acre parcel in Bullhead City that Reid and the pension fund had jointly owned. Reid's price for the equivalent of 60 acres of undeveloped desert was less than one-tenth of the value the assessor placed on it at the time.Here's a previous Harry Reid scandal. In 1993 Reid opposed illegal immigration, but since then he's had a change of heart: he's the sponsor of the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007: S9, and he supported illegal aliens who'd been brought in to take jobs from American hurricane victims.
Six months after the deal closed, Reid introduced legislation to address the plight of lubricants dealers who had their supplies disrupted by the decisions of big oil companies. It was an issue the Haycock family had brought to Reid's attention in 1994, according to a source familiar with the events.
If Reid were to sell the property for any of the various estimates of its value, his gain on the $10,000 investment could range from $50,000 to $290,000...
...In a statement, Reid's spokesman Jon Summers said that the transaction was not a gift and that the price was due to the property's history and the fact that only a partial interest was sold. Reid's action on the lubricants issue was unrelated to the sale and reflected the senator's interest in fairness for small businesses, Summers said...
Posted to Politics at 10:35 AM | Comments (1)
American Nursery and Landscape Association: green thumbs up for Bush immigration plan
The American Nursery and Landscape Association joins the other groups issuing press communiques relating to Bush's SOTU speech, in which he (for the umpteenth time) promoted a "guest" worker plan and amnesty for illegal aliens. As can be expected, the press release doesn't say anything, but for completeness' sake here are the thoughts of John Farner, ANLA's director of legislative relations:
"After years of advocating for comprehensive immigration reform, we are very encouraged by the amount of time and focus that President Bush gives to finding a workable solution to the problem... With his leadership, we are confident that Congress can follow the principles laid out by the President and pass comprehensive immigration reform this year... With Congress addressing the H-2B cap each year, along with continuing to show strong support for AgJOBS, we need a comprehensive solution that addresses both our seasonal and year-round employment needs... What the President has laid out is a workable framework to allow us to fix both the current temporary worker programs and create new programs that will ensure our economy and our borders secure. It's time for our industry to join the President and renew our call for comprehensive immigration reform."
My solution: just mow your own lawn.
Previously: Esperanza USA, AILA, AAJC respond to immigration in Bush SOTU
Posted to Immigration2007a at 04:25 AM | Comments (1)
NBPC responds to Johnny Sutton Ramos/Compean claims
Johnny Sutton is the U.S. Attorney to the Western District of Texas and he led the prosecution of Border Patrol agents Ramos and Compean. He's also the author of a "Myths vs. Facts" article (PDF) giving his side of the case. Now, the National Border Patrol Council (NBPC) has a response to his article, available from this page.
Posted to Immigration2007a at 07:19 PM | Comments (0)
Costa Mesa: public arrest log includes immigration status
Costa Mesa, CA is making the immigration status of all inmates in their jail part of the public record. It's not online and you need to visit during the day and evening, so if anyone's in the area the aggregated information might be of interest.
Posted to Immigration2007a at 03:03 PM | Comments (0)
WFMOJALI: Gil Cedillo wants driver's licenses for illegal aliens, again and again
Welcome to the second edition of "Working For Mexico, Or Just Acts Like It?", which will feature legislators and others who - while they may not actually be receiving cash payments from Mexico - certainly act like it (previously: Kyrsten Sinema).It's also the ninth edition of this post's subject, California state senator Gil Cedillo ("One Bill Gil"), attempting to give CA driver's licenses to illegal aliens.
On the 15th of this month Cedillo introduced the latest version of SB60. It's currently in the Transportation and Housing committee, and the text of it is here. It implements the new federal Real ID requirements, with some additions:
Existing law requires the department to require every applicant for an original driver's license or identification card to submit satisfactory proof that the applicant's presence in the United States is authorized under federal law and prohibits the department from issuing a license or card to a person who does not do so. Existing law requires the department to adopt regulations, including procedures for verifying citizenship or legal residency of applicants for driver's licenses and identification cards, and to make a specified report, annually.Gray Davis signing one of the earlier bills played a large role in his recall. Arnie Schwarzenegger has since vetoed a bill or two, but considering his new "centrist" role and his link to the Mexican government it's not clear what he'd do now.
This bill would repeal those requirements on the date that the Secretary of State receives a notice from the Director of Motor Vehicles indicating that the department is in compliance with the implementation of the federal Real ID Act of 2005.
If you'd like to politely but firmly suggest that Cedillo is in the wrong country: dist22.casen.govoffice.com
Posted to Immigration_dls at 04:57 AM | Comments (11)
Democratic Party has a fan: Felipe Calderon
Speaking at Davos:Mexican President Felipe Calderon said his country has a better chance of resolving disputes with the U.S. over immigration now that Democrats control Congress...Yes, and Mexico wants as much of it as they can get. And:
Calderon, who took office last year, said it was essential to persuade Americans that Mexico and the U.S. have "complementary" economies. "Mexico has manpower, and America has much capital," he said.
Calderon recounted that Bush, in a telephone conversation two days ago, said he was pushing forward a compromise immigration reform package on Capitol Hill.The story is dated 06:01 PM CST today, perhaps implying that Bush called his new amigo on Wednesday. However, because of the various timezones involved it might have been the day of the SOTU.
Posted to Immigration2007a at 08:07 PM | Comments (2)
Bush official: NAFTA superhighway is "urban legend"
From the "I knew there was a conspiracy when they started denying there was a conspiracy" comes this:Congressmen and a policy official of the Department of Transportation engaged in a spirited exchange over whether NAFTA Super Highways were a threat to U.S. sovereignty or an imaginary "Internet conspiracy," such as the "black helicopter myths," advanced by fringe lunatics.The article also contains excerpts from a speech by former Secretary of Transportation Norm Mineta gave on April 30, 2004. He was speaking at a NASCO (North American SuperCorridor Coalition) meeting, and he basically declared open borders for Mexican trucks.
At a meeting Wednesday of the Subcommittee on Highways and Transit of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, Jeffrey N. Shane, undersecretary of transportation for policy at the U.S. Department of Transportation, testified.
During the questioning by committee members, Rep. Ted Poe, R-Texas, asked Shane about the existence of plans for a "NAFTA superhighway."
Shane responded he was "not familiar with any plan at all, related to NAFTA or cross-border traffic."
After further questioning by Poe, Shane stated reports of NAFTA superhighways or corridors were "an urban legend."
At this, the chairman, Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., questioned aloud whether Shane was just "gaming semantics" when responding to Poe's question.
"Mr. Shane was either blissfully ignorant or he may have been less than candid with the committee," Poe told WND in a telephone interview...
If there is no attempt to create a "NAFTA superhighway", why are the Bush administration and their helpers so eager to deny it, despite the mountain of evidence showing it's being planned? Why, for instance, are there zero relevant hits for "NASCO" and zero hits under any conditions for either "North American SuperCorridor Coalition" or "North American Super Corridor Coalition" in the archives for both the Washington Post and the New York Times?
Posted to NAU at 03:14 PM | Comments (3)
AVWatch: let's see how long facts stay in Villaraigosa's Wikipedia entry
Wikipedia is completely unreliable not just because of the possibility that an entry contains errors or biased statements. The more pernicious aspect of its unreliability is missing information. Statements of fact in an entry can be verified, but unless a visitor is familiar with the subject, they won't be able to figure out what the entry isn't telling them about the subject.
A case in point is the entry on Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (tinyurl.com/33tyxc). What you won't find in that entry is the undisputed fact that while at UCLA, he was a leader of the group MEChA. In fact, during the L.A. mayoral campaign someone followed him around with a sign and eventually forced him to somewhat renounce his involvement in that group.
As far as I can determine, information on his involvement was deleted from his WP entry on May 9, 2006 and it has not been reinstated (diff: tinyurl.com/2shlrh). I didn't add the paragraph that was deleted, but I had a discussion about another similar paragraph that I added that was subsequently deleted on their talk page (do a find for LonewackoDotCom at tinyurl.com/2l63tj)
As a test, I'm going to insert a modified version of that paragraph and see how long it sticks and who removes it. This is the original paragraph:
On the other hand, there is still some lingering resentment from his district after breaking the promise to serve a full term in the city council. He has remained mum about plans for higher office. Among conservatives, he is often referred to derisively as ''Mayor [[Reconquista]]'' because of his membership in [[MEChA]] and his support for [[amnesty]] for [[illegal immigrants]].
I'm going to change that to the following and put it near the end of the article in the 'Reputation' subsection of the 'Mayoralty' section:
At [[UCLA]], Villaraigosa was a leader of the group [[MEChA]] [http://www.bruinalumni.com/antonio/antonioindex.html] [http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=3531] [http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/politics/recall/20030830-9999_1n30mecha.html]. Some, such as [[John and Ken]] of [[KFI]], derisively refer to him as ''Mayor [[Reconquista]]'' because of that and because of his support for [[amnesty]] for [[illegal immigrants]].
Note that there are at least three links supporting the claim that Villaraigosa was involved with MEChA, so one wonders what interesting excuse whoever deletes this will come up with.
Posted to Miscellania at 12:11 PM | Comments (4)
Democrats, minimum wage, and Sessions' immigration amendments
Senator Jeff Sessions has tried to add two immigration-related amendments to the current minimum wage bill. The first would greatly increase fines against employers convicted of hiring illegal aliens. The second would ban employers convicted of hiring illegal aliens from working on federal contract for ten years. (It's not known whether they could work as subcontractors or similar.)The Democrat response?
"Amendment here. Amendment there," thundered Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, Massachusetts Democrat... "Amendment on Social Security. Amendment on immigration. And all the chortling and laughing as they go on about their business," he boomed... Republicans are "not for those millions of Americans who are heading home tonight, who've worked long and hard, facing their children hoping that at last ... the United States isn't going to fail us," he said. "What do we tell them after five days?"Of course, as discussed here, some or all of the Democratic support for raising the minimum wage may have less to do with those who receive that wage and more to do with the fact that many union contracts are pegged to multiples of that wage.
Despite being lifted directly from last year's Senate amnesty bill, the immigration fines amendment was removed. The federal contracts ban was approved 94-0.
However, that vote might not last long:
Business lobbyists believe lawmakers will ultimately strip from Senate minimum wage legislation any sanctions against companies caught hiring illegal immigrants. Whether they can keep it out of immigration law is another matter...
Angelo Amador, director of immigration policy for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, predicted the contracting ban would not likely survive inside a final minimum wage bill...
..."The Sessions amendments are comparable to using the nuclear option for a paperwork violation," Jeffrey D. Shoaf of the Associated General Contractors of America wrote to senators in a last ditch attempt to kill the immigration provision...
Others voicing opposition were the American Meat Institute, whose meat packing members have been frequent targets of immigration raids. Others who signed on to a letter of opposition included the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Homebuilders and the Associated Builders and Contractors...
Posted to Immigration2007a at 11:28 AM | Comments (0)
Democrats demand: let's jump together on immigration "reform"
One of the many lies told by immigration "reform" supporters is that their massive amnesty has widespread public support. The Democrats are dumb, just not that dumb:Democrats say they won't shoulder the responsibility alone for any comprehensive and politically sensitive plan that includes Bush's proposals to give 12 million illegal aliens a chance at citizenship and to create a guest-worker program.It's not just Bloomberg reporter James Rowley imagining this, he's got quotes:
Substantial Republican support is "a prerequisite," said Democratic Representative Howard Berman of California. Key Democrats and congressional aides from both parties suggest 50 to 60 of the House's 202 Republicans is the minimum backing to guarantee passage. "I would hope the number would be closer to 100," said Illinois Democrat Luis Gutierrez, a sponsor of immigration reform.Shouldn't the need for "bipartisan political cover" be somewhat of an indication that what they want is a bad idea?
..."The only way for us to do meaningful immigration reform is for it to be bipartisan," said Representative James Clyburn of South Carolina, the third-ranking House Democrat. "If that issue's politicized, we're not going to get anywhere."
There are at least 175 House Democrats who would support comprehensive legislation, Gutierrez said. If Republicans produce from 50 to 60 votes, that would put the plan over the top with room to spare and provide the bipartisan political cover both sides want.
"It ain't going to happen without the support of Republican members -- if it happens," said Illinois Representative Rahm Emanuel, a Democratic House leader and supporter of revamping immigration law.
...Arizona Republican Representative Jeff Flake, a sponsor of comprehensive immigration legislation, said he is hopeful for compromise. "A good section of my party" will buy that idea, he said, drawing a parallel with bipartisan support for raising the minimum wage.
Posted to Immigration2007a at 05:24 AM | Comments (2)
Spanish-language Democrat response to SOTU (Xavier Becerra)
Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-CA) gave the Spanish-language Democrat response to the State of the Union.He spent a few paragraphs on immigration and said the standard things. About the only thing different from what Bush said is that he went even further with the smears. Whereas Bush just said "without animosity and without amnesty", Becerra included the following:
On immigration, after years of Republican attacks and inaction, Democrats are ready to lead. For us to succeed, however, we will need the support of President Bush, and we are ready to work with him.Just before that, he complained about "parents must work sometimes two jobs each, just to pay the bills". However, the "reform" he supports would flood the U.S. with cheap labor and reduce wages for those parents who are working two jobs. Sure, they might have to work three jobs, but at least they'd have given Becerra more race-based power.
Our bipartisan principles for comprehensive immigration reform are clear: protect our borders responsibly, fix the backlogged visa process, and establish a path for legal residency for immigrants who have earned it through years of hard work.
Our immigration system is broken. Now is the time for comprehensive immigration reform.
He also complains about (presumably) U.S. citizens not being able to afford college educations. Yet, he supports the DREAM Act, a completely anti-American bill that takes college discounts from U.S. citizens and gives them to citizens of other countries who are here illegally.
Posted to Immigration2007a at 02:16 AM | Comments (1)
Esperanza USA, AILA, AAJC respond to immigration in Bush SOTU
The far-lefties have spent a few hundred dollars sending out press releases responding to Bush's pro-amnesty statements in the State of the Union. If they say anything other than the standard blather it will be noted:
* Esperanza USA and their president Rev. Luis Cortes, Jr. say: "Thank You, Mr. President"
* The AILA (American Immigration Lawyers Association) is "Encouraged by President Bush's Pledge to Push for Immigration Overhaul". Notable only for their use of Action Words (or perhaps NLP): "...Americans have been thirsting for the federal government to take strong, decisive action on this critical issue. But Americans also want a meaningful, lasting solution... It will take the President's leadership and active engagement with Congress to see this initiative across the finish line."
* The Asian American Justice Center and their President and Executive Director Karen K. Narasaki respond. They complain about long waits for legal immigration, but obviously live in a fantasy world where that can be addressed at the same time as the massive amnesty that they support is implemented.
Earlier: Deepak Bhargava/Center for Community Change on SOTU/immigration
Posted to Immigration2007a at 10:58 PM | Comments (0)
Reuters' Tim Gaynor leads "fearful undocumented workers" charge
As sure as Spring follows Winter, the occasional immigration raid leads to a series of media reports offering sympathetic portrayals of fearful-and-humble illegal aliens. Tim Gaynor of Reuters leads the charge this time with "California Latinos fearful after immigration raids":Cook Rosa Maria Salazar's eyes dart anxiously to the door as customers file into the Salvadoran cafe in a heavily Hispanic neighborhood near downtown Los Angeles.She is, of course, an "undocumented worker". Then:
"We're terrified. The police could come for us at any time and deport us," she said in Spanish earlier this week as diners fingered maize tortillas stuffed with beans and pork scratchings and chatted softly...
The-seven day Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) sweep, dubbed "Operation Return to Sender," targeted jails across five counties in the Los Angeles area, where police took 423 of what they called "criminal aliens" into federal custody for deportation, after being held on charges unrelated to their immigration status.Is Gaynor trying to imply that ICE's appelation is incorrect? Are they not "criminal aliens"? Would Reuters prefer a euphemism be used?
Then, we're treated to a quote from Antonio Bernabe of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles, a group which has allegedly collaborated with the Mexican government. Needless to say, Gaynor doesn't mention that and I'm positive that Reuters has never published an article looking into the allegations. The quote claims - as is standard for this type of article - that "people are afraid to go out".
Please send a short, polite note to a Reuters editor using the form here: today.reuters.com/HelpAndInfo/ContactUs.aspx
Posted to Immigration2007a at 02:07 PM | Comments (4)
Teresa Watanabe on illegal alien children
Teresa Watanabe of the Los Angeles Times has a somewhat balanced overview of the issue of illegal alien children in "Children of illegal immigrants are caught in a web of conflicting public policies". It features a few quotes from CIS and FAIR representatives, but it also ends on this PIIPPish note that she or someone else there should take a closer look at:During a recent visit to the Gomezes' tidy Los Angeles apartment, all four family members spoke of the importance of hard work and education. Cesar and Thania's father, Felipe Gomez, who came here illegally in 1990, said his main motivation was to give his two children opportunities.This follows a slight promotion of the DREAM Act, and while there might have been others this is the first article I can recall that sought out the parents of those who would be given college discounts under that anti-American bill. Unfortunately, Watanabe didn't ask him the follow-up questions: "so, what you're saying is that all those benefits we give to illegal aliens served as an incentive? And, without those incentives, you wouldn't have come here, right? And, as long as we continue to offer such incentives, more people will come here illegally, right?"
Indeed, Gomez said, he wouldn't have brought his children here if they could not have attended public schools.
Cesar Gomez works full time, volunteers with the Central American Resource Center and last year marched for immigrant rights.I tend to strongly suspect that Watanabe was introduced to him through CARECEN, but unfortunately she doesn't disclose how that happened. And, while illegal aliens do have human rights, those rights aren't to be confused (as he does) with citizenship or legal resident rights. If he's a citizen of Mexico or another country, he should talk to them about his citizenship rights. Needless to say, Watanabe ends on his misleading statements rather than challenging them.
"Whatever sentiments people have toward immigrants," Cesar said, "everyone is human and deserves equal rights and equal opportunities — especially in this great country, especially those who have tried so hard to stay ahead."
Posted to Immigration2007a at 11:21 AM | Comments (2)
If you can't trust a Spanish-language radio station, who can you trust?
La Ley 107.9 FM ("The Law") is a Chicago radio station owned by Spanish Broadcasting System. In 2005 they held a promotion to give away a Corvette, but the winner was an illegal alien and she's currently suing the company and their lawyer. The latter, one James Cuevas, sent a letter to the winner:
"I will caution you that if you insist on filing suit against SBS, I will in turn be forced to refer this matter to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement as I believe your client is in this country illegally. Please communicate that to your client for her consideration."
According to the company, they were just misunderstood, and we're told that they also refer to themselves as a "champion for Latinos and the legalization of undocumented immigrants". In fact, one of their DJs ("El Chokolate") was apparently one of the organizers of at least one of the Chicago marches for illegal immigration.
This is similar to the Toys R Us case, and of course some may recall the KRCA billboard issue.
UPDATE: Sean Hannity seems to think that because the rules of the contest said she had to be present to win, but because her presence here was not lawful, then the radio station is justified on those grounds alone from not giving her the prize. My explanation: Sean is in a bidding war between the Bush administration and the Dems. The latter want to hire him away to make the former look even worse.
Posted to Immigration2007a at 10:23 AM | Comments (1)
Diebold voting machine opened with key copied from photo on their site
This post contains a screenshot of a page from Diebold's online store where they offered "Replacement Access Keys" for their Accuvote-TS voting machine. Someone used that photo to file down a few blank keys, and two out of three of the keys opened the machines. Apparently Diebold uses the same key for all machines of that model. Once opened, apparently a "vote switching virus" can be installed into the machine. They've since apparently sanitized their site.
Posted to Politics at 09:38 AM | Comments (1)
Schwarzenegger: corporatism for corrupt growers
California's Mexico-linked governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has shown himself to be a true humanitarian:
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced Tuesday that Escondido would get one of several temporary "one-stop" assistance centers aimed at helping agricultural workers who may have lost their jobs because of freezing temperatures that have hit the state... Darrel Ng, a spokesman for the governor, said the assistance centers would help farm, nursery and field workers sign up for unemployment benefits, find other work, get food stamps and find health care assistance, if they had lost their jobs...
What a humanitarian! I'm sure this has absolutely nothing to do with him attempting to keep a workforce for corrupt growers around, rather than (for instance) Mexico stepping in and offering to repatriate their citizens who are here illegally. Politically-connected growers - such as those who accompanied Arnie on his Big Trip to Mexico - no doubt had nothing to do with this gesture, and this is not an example of corporatism with a smiley face.
Of course, if our media worked, they might look into the connections that Arnie and the Bush administration have to growers, they might reveal which growers went with him on his trip, and they might ask the Mexican government what they intend to do to help their citizens (see, for instance, "California freeze leaves migrant farm laborers out of work and money", link).
Posted to California at 05:03 AM | Comments (0)
AVWatch: does Villaraigosa really support immigration "reform" or just open borders?
As discussed yesterday in regards to Deepak Bhargava of Center for Community Change, many advocates of "comprehensive immigration reform" don't seem to be completely on the up-and-up. No big surprise there.Specifically, many of those who claim to support "reform" also speak out against those rare immigration raids that the Bush administration conducts. Yet, "reform" supposedly contains enforcement provisions, and many of those who support "reform" use that as a selling point. If they don't support enforcement now, will they support it in the future? Won't those who lean towards amnesty now simply support another amnesty for all those illegal aliens who'll come here in expection of being part of the next amnesty?
Hopefully someone somewhere can ask them about it. In the meantime, here's another example, with Erica Werner of the AP acting as the transcriptionist:
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said Wednesday that immigration reform is needed more than raids like those that arrested more than 750 people in the Los Angeles metropolitan area over the past week.If I'd been there and had the chance to ask him a few follow-up questions and those had then been transcribed in turn by Erica Werner, I think that might go a long way towards ending his political career. I urge everyone to get out there and start asking the tough questions that the AP "reporters" of this world won't ask.
Villaraigosa said labor laws should be enforced, borders secured and a pathway to citizenship offered to illegal immigrants who've resided in this country, worked and paid taxes.
"I think that will produce much better results than the raids that occur, that oftentimes two weeks later those people are back," he said while taking audience questions after a speech at the National Press Club.
Posted to Immigration2007a at 02:37 AM | Comments (2)
Kyrsten Sinema oppressed by Minuteman oppressors
Arizona state Rep. Kyrsten Sinema recently introduced a bill that would turn civilian border patrols, neighborhood watches, and the like into felonies. Now, she claims that she's receiving threatening emails about it, and that may well be true. However, it's a standard leftie tactic to claim to be a victim and to try to portray all those on the other side as violent.
As for the article, 3TV/AZ Family must have good lawyers. The title of the article is "Local lawmaker receives threatening emails from Minutemen", which would lead one to believe that supposed reporter Claudia Rivero has actually verified the identities and affiliations of the senders. I tend to doubt that:
Many of the emails are signed by people who claim to be members of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps. But the president of the group says they do not tolerate such behavior.
Posted to Immigration2007a at 07:43 PM | Comments (4)
Deepak Bhargava/Center for Community Change on SOTU/immigration
Speaking apparently on behalf of all "immigrant communities" in the U.S., Deepak Bhargava, the Executive Director of the far-left Center for Community Change, responds thusly to the immigration section of Bush's SOTU:
In 2006, Congress used 'immigration' to drag our nation through one of the most racially divisive political campaigns in recent memory and the Bush Administration embarked on a campaign of highly publicized workplace raids displacing thousands of families in the name of "getting tough" on immigration... For immigrant communities, actions speak louder than words: humane and comprehensive immigration reform can begin to heal the breach.
Now I'm confused. Isn't stepped-up enforcement supposed to be a part of immigration "reform"? After we get "reform", won't illegal aliens - for instance, those who couldn't make it into the "guest" worker scheme - continue to be arrested and deported? In that case, can anyone imagine Bhargava saying anything different? Are we supposed to believe that after "reform" Bhargava will start supporting immigration enforcement, including raids?
We're also informed that the coalition FIRM ("Fair Immigration Reform Movement") will be meeting in D.C. next week to plan ahead, apparently for more marches. FIRM is part of the We Are America Alliance.
We're also informed of this perhaps ominous news:
"Millions stand ready to mobilize for justice. While President Bush and Congressional leaders have expressed sincere intentions this year, immigrant communities are taking nothing for granted. We are preparing to work harder than ever to ensure that President Bush lives up to his promise and that the new Congress performs differently from the old one."
When I first read the first sentence above, it seemed like a threat to me. The following sentences soften it somewhat, but one wonders how it was meant to come across.
Posted to Immigration2007a at 05:23 AM | Comments (6)
Pro-illegal immigration loons descend on Farmers Branch
Farmers Branch, Texas is trying to pass a Hazleton-style ordinance designed to reduce the numbers of illegal aliens in the town. In the past this has resulted in things like Hector Flores - formerly of LULAC - encouraging a Hispanic-only house buying binge.
This biased article describes the latest doings, including apparently linking to the most recent versions of the ordinances and including quotes like this from one Elizabeth Villafranca of the group Uniting Farmers Branch:
"We are not pro-illegal immigration... We simply feel that this is not something that the City of Farmers Branch or any other municipality should be involved in... Most of us believe that the Federal Government needs to provide comprehensive immigration reform at the earliest moment, which would include a guest worker program and a path to citizenship for many undocumented citizens."
They aren't supporters of illegal immigration (honest!) They just want to take every step possible to avoid immigration enforcement and make sure that illegal aliens can continue living and working there. The second sentence is simply a dodge, and one used by many other illegal immigration supporters. They know full well that the federal government isn't doing hardly anything about the issue; if it was, they'd probably be suggesting the opposite local reaction. And, of course, there's no such thing as an "undocumented citizen", and the fact that someone would even say such a thing mistakenly illustrates that they do not respect our immigration laws.
And, were informed:
State Representative Rafael Anchia flew in from Austin to attend the Council meeting... "As city council members at the local level, you have a burden... A very productive thing for this council to do is to ask the federal government to ask for a comprehensive immigration program at the federal level."
A very productive thing for those in the area to do is pass out flyers explaining exactly what a "comprehensive immigration program" means and what it would do.
Posted to Immigration2007a at 01:12 AM | Comments (0)
Bush State of the Union Address 2007 live-blogging!
The Skull, aka Michael Chertoff is here... Alberto Gonzales is not there, in case he has to become president...
Together, we can restrain the spending appetite of the federal government
Why's he trying to blame it on the faceless bureaucrats in the "federal government" when that's mostly his and his party's problem?
[We need "guest" workers...] As a result, they won't have to try to sneak in — and that will leave border agents free to chase down drug smugglers, and criminals, and terrorists.
This is the standard BS line offered by John Fund, Tamar Jacoby and others. The idea that we should let those who want to come here dictate our immigration policies is insane. And, even with a "guest" worker scheme, people who weren't terrorists or criminals would keep trying to sneak in, such as those who didn't get into the "guest" worker scheme, former "guests", or spongers.
We will enforce our immigration laws at the worksite, and give employers the tools to verify the legal status of their workers — so there is no excuse left for violating the law.
It's quite difficult to take the word of someone who has done everything they could to only enforce our immigration laws when absolutely politically necessary. Even Bill Clinton's level of immigration enforcement was higher than Bush's.
And we need to resolve the status of the illegal immigrants who are already in our country - without animosity and without amnesty.
The first is a smear and the second is a lie. Bush is trying to make it appear that those who want to enforce our immigration laws are exhibiting animosity. And, any form of legalization will be seen as an amnesty by millions of prospective illegal aliens around the world, no matter how Bush wants to lie and redefine the word.
UPDATE: Did any TV pundit call Bush on any part of his immigration-related BS? I didn't see any.
On a humorous note, the Hannity-Colmes text-message poll is currently running 84% rating the speech "excellent".
UPDATE 2: In keeping with the latter reminder that there are still people holed up somewhere who still unbelievably support Bush, for entertainment purposes only let's take a little trip to Koolaidiandia, aka Blogs For Bush. First up is Matt Margolis to let us know that "aside from running or contributing to something like seven blogs, having a full time job, and writing a book, I also am a graduate student". But, wait, that's not all. He also informs us that "I expect to get a copy of the speech in advance of the delivery" and "I'll be missing a blogger conference call with White House Press Secretary Tony Snow". Don't you wish you were as connected as Matt? But, as I could have predicted, the award for Most Besotten Comment goes to his fellow contributor Mark Noonan:
It was a great speech, by a great man we are very lucky to have as President of the United States.
If anyone spots anything worse - or his opposite number at DU or cpusa.org or something - please leave a comment.
Posted to Politics at 06:05 PM | Comments (0)
Bush State of the Union Address 2007 features blackmail
The SOTU excerpt has Bush blackmailing the country he supposedly works for:
we cannot fully secure the border unless we take pressure off the border - and that requires a temporary worker program.
That statement is either completely Clintonian or complete bunk depending on how it's parsed. For the first, nothing anyone could ever do would "fully secure" the border: that's physically impossible.
If we parse that non-Clintonianly, then Bush could secure the border tomorrow if he wanted to. Simply start cracking down (really cracking down) on employers (hey! a new job for Johnny Sutton) and do whatever else is legal and necessary to make sure that most of the flow is going the other way.
This Bush statement is essentially blackmail: "help my contributors get the cheap labor they want (but don't absolutely need) and then I might do the job I swore I'd do."
Also: the wife of Border Patrol agent Ramos will be attending the SOTU as a guest of Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA).
Posted to Politics at 05:28 PM | Comments (0)
Week-long SoCal sweep nets 750 fugitive aliens (JIT SOTU; LULAC)
Just-In-Time for president Bush's State of the Union speech, ICE has conducted a week-long sweep in Southern California for more than 750 fugitive aliens who had either already been deported for crimes or who had been given a deportation order and were still here. Over 400 of them were already in jails.Meanwhile, Tyche Hendricks describes the raids in the northern part of the state... in her own special way:
...Latino community advocates said the enforcement action has sown fear in East Bay immigrant communities.Even if ICE had a team of lawyers along to make sure they followed every rule to the utmost degree, illegal immigration supporters like LULAC - assisted by people like Hendricks - would find something to whine about. In the past decade or so, has LULAC ever fully supported even one instance of immigration enforcement?
The Concord chapter of the League of United Latin American Citizens filed a compliant Monday with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
LULAC chapter President Jerry Okendo said agents were not properly identifying themselves and, armed with a warrant for an individual, they were sweeping through apartment complexes and picking up anyone who could not provide proof they were living in the United States legally.
"We understand that ICE has a job to do," said Okendo, "But we also understand that there are laws and guidelines they have to follow, and they are not. As a civil rights organization, we're infuriated."
Richmond City Councilman John Marquez has a standard complaint which is basically just a dodge:
"We've worked a long time to develop a relationship between our Police Department and our Latino community so we can get control of the violence taking place in our city... Now when someone identifies themselves as police, people are afraid to cooperate."Someone should publicly point out to him that his concerns could be answered if he'd support the enforcement of our immigration laws.
Posted to Politics at 01:24 PM | Comments (1)
Senators on Swift raid; "designed to fail"; Chertoff "not in the business of doing amnesty"
[See the first update] Reading about yesterday's Senate meeting where they discussed the recent immigration raids at Swift and Company locations in various states left me feeling like I was having an intense spell of vertigo inside a House of Mirrors. Who's doing what and what are they trying to get at here?Were the Swift raids a setup by the Bush administration designed to provoke outcry from far-lefties and from various representatives and thereby encourage "comprehensive immigration reform"? Are the Senators at this meeting in the pocket of pork producers?
The lawmakers said they'd heard worries from companies that use a government document-verification system that's intended to screen out illegal workers.Is the Bush administration trying to scuttle the Basic Pilot Program, perhaps to be replaced with something else?
Participation in the program "in good faith" immunizes companies against prosecution for hiring illegal immigrants. But the widely known loopholes in the system – in which companies share their records with the government – have also made thousands of employers susceptible to costly shutdowns of their facilities.
The senators said they would push for a better approach to verifying workers' identities by pushing to remove restrictions that inhibit some federal agencies, such as the Social Security Administration and Internal Revenue Service, from working with immigration officials due to privacy concerns or other interests.That sounds like a good thing, but are there downsides such as one might expect from proposals being pushed by those who support massive immigration?
Michael Chertoff of the DHS showed up and uttered one of his most ludicrous comments yet:
"It is not an acceptable alternative for us to say that if a company is cooperating they can continue to use illegal workers... That would be in effect an amnesty, and we are not in the business of doing amnesty."And, Sen. John Cornyn said:
"I can't imagine a system that would be better designed to fail than our current laws."To a certain extent that might be true, but unfortunately his solution is a massive amnesty.
UPDATE: My vertigo is not helped with this post from John Hawkins in which he recounts a Tony Snow teleconference he attended today:
With immigration, we're being aggressive on the borders. We're catching heat for being too tough on businesses that hire illegals. We're building fences. We're putting state of the art technology on the border. We got rid of catch and release. We get the message. But, what's the best way to deal with the people who are here? We have laid out the most difficult path to citizenship in history. They have to pay taxes and social security, they can't break the law, they have to keep working. They have to master the English language, pay back taxes and fines. We want to work with the base on this and we think we don't get enough credit for what we do right on illegal immigration.
Posted to Immigration2007a at 10:42 AM | Comments (1)
Congressional White Caucus: for whites only
From this:Freshman Rep. Stephen I. Cohen, D-Tenn., is not joining the Congressional White Caucus after several current and former members made it clear that a black lawmaker was not welcome.Similar: "African-American Rep. wants to join Tennessee's White Caucus"
"I think they're real happy I'm not going to join," said Cohen, who succeeded Rep. Harold Ford, D-Tenn., in a majority-white Memphis district. "It's their caucus and they do things their way. You don't force your way in. You need to be invited."
Cohen said he became convinced that joining the caucus would be "a social faux pas" after seeing news reports that former Rep. William Lacy Clay Sr., D-Mo., a co-founder of the caucus, had circulated a memo telling members it was "critical" that the group remain "exclusively European-American."
...The bylaws of the caucus do not make race a prerequisite for membership, a House aide said, but no non-white member has ever joined.
Rep. Pete Stark, D-Calif., who is black, tried in 1975 when he was a sophomore representative and the group was only 6 years old...
Posted to MultiCultiCult at 09:34 AM | Comments (0)
Hidden details of Ramos/Compean case; sealed evidence
This site occasionally tries to have an introductory paragraph for new readers. Other sites do things differently. So, there might be interesting background here about the case of the two Border Patrol agents (Ramos and Compean) who appear to have been railroaded by their own government, but I didn't bother to read it through to see exactly what that was. Nevertheless, it would seem to be required reading for those who want to support the government's view of events.
UPDATE: T.J. Bonner, president of the National Border Patrol Council, discussed sealed evidence in the case on Lou Dobbs' show. He doesn't know what it consists of, but:
"Well, some of the information goes to the sealed indictment regarding the second load of marijuana, of about a thousand pounds of marijuana. DEA agents were involved in that arrest. And there were other people who were called as witnesses for the defense but not allowed to testify."
Posted to Immigration2007a at 02:14 AM | Comments (3)
Help! I want to hate Hillary Clinton... but I can't!
Dear Mr. Povich:
I regret to inform you that I am unable to appear on your upcoming "Help! I want to hate Hillary Clinton... but I can't!" episode due to this issue being extremely painful for me. I understand many of the reasons why I should hate the "Hill-da-beast", but as soon as I see her and her pastel pantsuits all those thoughts are replaced with a feeling somewhat similar to admiration.
I realize that if she became president she'd probably conduct raids of opposition bloggers' homes and perhaps send a newly-reinstated Janet Reno out with her flamethrower to take care of the stragglers. Somehow, I don't care.
She wants to mandate that it takes a village? OK, so we all have an extreme thought or two, right? I have been to therapists about this, but none have been able to find a cure. They do inform me that I'm otherwise normal, in that I am able to deeply hate most of those who support Hillary or who are at least on the same side, from Barbra Streisand to Howard Dean. And, while I do have worries about yet another Clinton, all of those feelings take a back seat to the feelings I get when I hear Hillary saying even mundane phrases like, "let's chat". Yes, I realize who also supports her, and... well... I feel like I'm giving aid and comfort to those who mean the rest of us harm... but, I just can't help it. I'm so sorry. So, very, very sorry.
Yours,
/s/
Posted to Politics at 07:12 PM | Comments (0)
Did Johnny Sutton prosecute Ramos/Compean under the right law?
Holy moley:Rep. Walter B. Jones (R-N.C.) has on record a letter written to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales on Oct.11, 2006, charging that Border Patrol Agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Alonso Compean were charged under a statue that did not apply to the facts of the case. As previously reported by WND, the interview I conducted on Friday, Jan. 17, 2007 with the prosecutor, U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton, adds strong support to Rep. Jones's contention.That section is here:
Jones notes that Ramos and Compean were convicted of violating 18 U.S.C. Section 924(c). This statute was written to increase the penalties when a violent criminal, such as a drug trafficker or a rapist, carries or uses a weapon during the commission of the crime. Law enforcement officers, including Border Patrol agents, are issued weapons by the Border Patrol to carry in the normal pursuit of their duties...
Except to the extent that a greater minimum sentence is otherwise provided by this subsection or by any other provision of law, any person who, during and in relation to any crime of violence or drug trafficking crime (including a crime of violence or drug trafficking crime that provides for an enhanced punishment if committed by the use of a deadly or dangerous weapon or device) for which the person may be prosecuted in a court of the United States, uses or carries a firearm, or who, in furtherance of any such crime, possesses a firearm, shall, in addition to the punishment provided for such crime of violence or drug trafficking crime... (iii) if the firearm is discharged, be sentenced to a term of imprisonment of not less than 10 years.Is what Ramos and Compean did a "crime of violence"? Corsi suggests that they should have been prosecuted instead under the INS Firearms Policy (PDF).
Posted to Immigration2007a at 10:59 AM | Comments (0)
Bloggers: stop linking to Wikipedia
Based on a "directive" from Jimmy Wales [1], the English version of Wikipedia has started using the "nofollow" tag on all external links (the foreign language versions had been doing that for a while). That tag tells search engines to not pass any "search engine juice" (e.g., PageRank) from the WP page to the linked page. While sites that have links in WP will continue to receive visitors from those links, they will (supposedly) not receive search engine-related benefits (they might, however, be spidered by some engines). Certainly, some search engines may special-case WP (including having assumed that external links weren't trustworthy already), and some mirror sites (like answers.com) may or may not follow WP's lead. However, it's the thought that counts, and this is an example of WP giving a big FU to those who contribute to their site.
The rip-off nature of this change is described here:
What happens as a consequence, in my opinion, is that Wikipedia gets valuable backlinks from all over the web, in huge quantity, and of huge importance – normal links, not "nofollow" links; this is what makes Wikipedia rank so well – but as of now, they're not giving any of this back... Wikipedia has become a website that takes from the communities but doesn't give back, skewing web etiquette as well as tools that work on this etiquette (like search engines, which analyze the web's link structure).
That page also describes what I suggest that everyone does in response:
I predict some people will now, in return, stop linking to Wikipedia, or "nofollow" their links to Wikipedia (following the argument that if they don't trust their own system, we shouldn't either, and also following social etiquette – returning a disfavor, so to speak).
This site has been doing that for quite a while, and will do things like link to answers.com if we need WP's content for some odd reason.
Note also that WP's guidelines strongly discourage using blogs as a source [2]. So, if you're a blogger who has a real news story you might have trouble getting your link to stick, and even if you do it will be nofollowed. And, as described here, that might result in WP ranking higher for something than the site with the original news.
This move may lead a small number of people to commit acts of vandalism against WP as a form of revenge, such as by attempting to stuff pages with spammy words. It might also lead to some people spamming not for (the apparently non-existent) "link juice" but for simple traffic. For instance, so far this month their Playstation 3 page supposedly got 40,000 views per day; a well-placed link there could result in hundreds or thousands of click-throughs.
And, it would be interesting to find out which links in Wikipedia don't have that tag; for instance, their links to the wikimediafoundation .org from their main page don't have nofollow.
On a technical note, this tag only seems to be added after a page is edited, perhaps due to caching. I originally thought I found a case of a link without the tag [3], but upon saving the section (without any changes), it had obtained that tag.
[1] Wrap these lines and remove the space before ".org":
en.wikipedia .org/wiki/Wikipedia_talk:WikiProject_Spam
#External_links_in_articles_are_now_.22nofollow.22_per_Jimbo_Wales
[2] Remove the space before ".org": en.wikipedia .org/wiki/WP:V#SELF
[3] The link to cdc.gov here (remove the space before ".org"):
en.wikipedia .org/wiki/Hazards_of_outdoor_activities#External_links
(Note: Placing links in that format is not necessarily suggested, that's just the method used in this instance.)
Posted to Bloggage at 10:08 AM | Comments (2)
Bush State of the Union Address 2007
[UPDATE: Live-blogging here; additional note here.]
On Tuesday, this site will be discussing Bush's State of the Union Address. Rather than actually watching it, we'll look for an unembargoed copy and discuss that.
Slightly surprisingly, Bush has decided to keep digging and will - according to Billy House of the AZ Republic - make "comprehensive immigration reform" one of the "main themes" of the speech. The speech will supposedly be Schwarzeneggerian, with Bush emphasizing bipartisanship. Per Tony Snow:
"He's going to lay a way forward for Democrats and Republicans to work together on the issues that are atop the stated concerns for all Americans... So, if you talk about those in a way that gives both parties an opportunity to work together and achieve success, that's a good and important thing."
Posted to Politics at 09:41 AM | Comments (2)
Rev. Robin Hoover, Mexico's little helper
Rev. Robin Hoover runs Humane Borders, a religous-based group of useful idiots which assists Mexico with their agenda to send their excess population to the U.S. in exchange for remittances. They do that by establishing water stations in the desert - some of which are paid for by Pima County. They also are or were distributing maps in Mexico showing the worst routes to the U.S. - and by implication the best routes.
Gail Russell Chaddock of The Christian Science Monitor has a not-as-horribly-biased-as-one-might-be-expected profile in "Backstory: The canteen man of the US-Mexico border". While she does use the inaccurate phrase "anti-immigration protesters", she does at least give a tiny clue that Hoover is serving Mexico's agenda:
In Mexico, support for the Humane Borders agenda is unambiguous. When Mexico's National Human Rights Commission announced that it would nominate Hoover and two Mexican activists for their human rights award, new Mexican President Felipe Calderon offered to present the awards himself last month – and did.
Chaddock does not, however, call Hoover on his BS. His moves encourage people to cross and are the opposite of humanitarian. If he wanted to be a real humanitarian, he'd come out strongly against illegal immigration and Mexico's agenda and he'd do whatever he could to discourage people from trying to cross the desert. He might have the best intentions in the world, but that doesn't mean he has the mental abilities to figure things out and think things through.
Related: One of the present or former members (Rev. John Fife) reveals the undisclosed more extreme side to the group. When pressed, Hoover shows himself to be a bit extreme as well.
Posted to Immigration2007a at 05:09 AM | Comments (1)
Washington Post gives good argument against a massive illegal alien amnesty
The Washington Post offers the unsigned editorial "Immigration Stagnation" about the failures of the USCIS (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services) to handle legal immigration properly. After a human-interest-example, they present their only proposals of the piece:
Citizenship and Immigration Services needs to cut its wait times by making a rapid transition to electronic forms and better organizing reform efforts. And the FBI must conduct background checks more efficiently.
The WaPo is encouraged to put on their thinking caps and wonder what a "guest" worker or massive amnesty scheme administered by the USCIS and assisted by the FBI would be like. And, the reader is encouraged to send the link to that editorial each time the WaPo comes out in favor of a massive amnesty or "guests".
More information on this situation in Immigration "reform" would completely overwhelm USCIS.
Posted to Immigration2007a at 02:41 AM | Comments (1)
Arizona Daily Star pimps "Immigration and America's Future" report
The Arizona Daily (Red) Star offers an unsigned editorial called "Immigration reform in '07: fact or fiction?"A new report should serve as a reminder — as if one is needed — that the United States' immigration system is broken and needs fixing. The 110th Congress should follow the report's recommendations and pass a comprehensive immigration-reform package this session.As detailed at the second link, no less than three Mexican citizens - including two Mexican government officials - participated in the report. Others included Senators John McCain and Teddy Kennedy and representatives Jeff Flake and Howard Berman.
Continuing:
The report offers possible solutions, too, and it's not the enforcement-heavy approach that has been espoused by some anti-immigration advocates and lawmakers.
While the task force concluded that more border security is needed, it doesn't recommend hundreds of miles of walls or fencing. It also took a swipe at groups like the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps, saying enforcement efforts "must include active steps by the government to disband vigilantism of any form along the border."
In Arizona, state Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Phoenix, introduced legislation that would make it a felony for groups, such as the Minutemen, not affiliated with law enforcement to patrol "to detect alleged illegal activity" if any are armed...
Posted to Immigration2007a at 09:27 PM | Comments (0)
NAU links, background
This page has a compilation of links regarding the North American Union and possible predecessors in various trade pacts.
Posted to NAU at 02:09 AM | Comments (0)
Eliot Spitzer considering driver's licenses for illegal aliens
New York governor Eliot Spitzer is considering giving driver's licenses to illegal aliens. Former governor Pataki required social security numbers to get a license, but the Coalition for a Secure Driver's License says he's about to repeal that:
"The 9/11 Commission pointed out that the 19 terrorists had at least 35 licenses," a board member of the coalition who lost his 23-year-old son in the World Trade Center attack, Peter Gadiel, said. "These licenses were the keys that enabled them to rent cars and open bank accounts, get credits cards, and buy flight lessons. It gave them everything they needed to plan, rehearse, and carry out their attacks."
However:
As the issue gains traction in Albany, Mr. Spitzer, who has moved other contentious issues such gay marriage off of the front burner, is showing signs of rethinking his position. "This is a complex issue, which we are reviewing carefully," Ms. Anderson, told the Albany Times Union yesterday. "Before moving forward with any proposal, we would do an exhaustive review all security-related maters."
Related:
Hats off to the New York Immigration Coalition
"If 250,000 New York Driver's Licenses Do Not Match Social Security Data, How Many Voters are Illegally Registered?"
"License Crackdown Stirs Sharp Debate at Hearing"
"N.Y. '9/11' check yanks 300k driver licenses"
Posted to Immigration_dls at 10:46 PM | Comments (2)
Mehlman warns GOP; John Broder/NYT distorts
On his way out the door, former RNC chief Ken Mehlman warned the GOP that its losses weren't a fluke:
Ken Mehlman, the departing chairman of the Republican National Committee, warned on Thursday that his party would suffer even more devastating losses in 2008 than it did in 2006 if it did not reach out to minorities and address voter concerns about ethics... He said the party had to recommit itself to political reform, fiscal restraint and personal ethics.
He's right that the GOP has serious problems, but he's got the wrong ideas about the fix. The GOP's "outreach" to "minorities" consists of support for both "multiculturalism" (i.e., Gramscism) and illegal immigration. And, that support also plays a large role in their support for corporatism and political corruption. If they were smart and not corrupt, they could figure out a way to "reach out to minorities", support the rule of law, and oppose far-left ideas such as "multiculturalism". As it is, they're continually trying to fit a square peg into a round hole: acting like Democrats and playing by their rules and somehow expecting benefits to ensue.
The author of the piece, John M. Broder, illustrates what Mehlman should fight against but capitulates to instead:
[Senator Mel Martinez], who emigrated from Cuba as a child, will be the public face and voice of the party as it tries to reach out to Hispanics and other minorities who have abandoned the party in large numbers in recent years.
If Mehlman had principles, he'd oppose the hidden assumptions of statements such as that. If Hispanics supposedly only support a party that supports massive immigration of Hispanics, then where does the problem lie?
Mr. Martinez, who appeared at the meeting briefly Thursday morning before returning to the Capitol, said he believed that one of his chief jobs as general chairman would be to try to reconnect with Latino voters, whose support for the Republicans dropped to 29 percent in 2006 from 44 percent in 2004, in large part because many Republican candidates ran explicitly anti-immigrant campaigns... "The president, in naming me to this position, was saying we need to speak with a voice that speaks to all Americans,” Mr. Martinez said. "My job is to make clear that our door is open and we’re reaching out to all Americans, speaking to their hopes and aspirations and dreams."
I'm not aware of too many "explicitly anti-immigrant campaigns". I'm aware of Republicans who were opposed to massive illegal immigration, and some opposed to massive immigration in general. And, I'm also aware of many Democrats running on the first. And, there weren't too many Democrats running on anything similar to an open-borders platform.
Obviously, the GOP is buying the NYT's view of things, and if Mehlman and the GOP weren't completely corrupt they might realize that for the loser that it is.
Posted to Politics at 06:26 PM | Comments (1)
Bush to call Ramos and Compean families
From this:President Bush is expected to reach out to the families of two Texas Border Patrol agents convicted of shooting a Mexican drug smuggler.
White House staff contacted former agent Ignacio Ramos' family early Friday, assuring them the president would call them soon, said Monica Ramos, the agent's wife...
Posted to Immigration2007a at 02:56 PM | Comments (1)
National Guard border standoff worse than reported
Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano has released details on the January 3 encounter between National Guard troops and an armed force from Mexico:According to the statements, the armed group [of eight people] wore bulletproof vests and carried automatic weapons as they approached an entrance-identification site manned by the four National Guardsmen.The account has been confirmed by the Border Patrol and the NG, and they point out that the Guardsmen were armed (but don't say whether they had bullets). They left the area and called in the BP, who tracked the group as they returned to Mexico.
As they approached, the armed men "split into two groups to surround the site," said the statement from the National Guard government liaison.
Then, as the Guardsmen were putting their gear into the vehicle to leave, one of the armed men approached to within 40 feet, the National Guard report said.
The report goes on to say: "Both groups kept their weapons 'ready low' and never pointed them at each other. No shots were fired."
Posted to Immigration_terror at 11:51 AM | Comments (1)
Utah House to vote on discounted college educations for illegal aliens; Carol Spackman Moss
Utah state Rep. Glenn Donnelson has been trying for four years to repeal the Utah law that allows illegal aliens to take discounted college educations from U.S. citizens in his state. Now, the full House will vote on the repeal.
One of those on the other side is Rep. Carol Spackman Moss who is, naturally, a Democrat. She says it shouldn't be such an issue because there are just "less than 200 kids" receiving these discounts. Of course, since there is always a greater demand for educational discounts than there is a supply, that represents 200 discounts that were taken away from U.S. citizens.
And:
Moss said advocates for denying immigrant students favorable tuition rates were in effect deciding their careers, telling immigrants "you can mow lawns" but can't aspire to a professional calling... "Don't end the dream for these young people," she said.
Since the law she supports represents a taking from Americans, perhaps Ross is unclear on which country she represents. As for the first part of her comments, there are only two ways to prevent such unfortunate cases in the future: either completely open the borders and give discounts to anyone, or enforce our laws. The first isn't going to happen and Ross clearly doesn't support the second, so she is clearly making the situation worse.
Note that both Governor Jon Huntsman and Attorney General Mark Shurtleff oppose the repeal.
I urge everyone to try to attend public appearances by Moss, Huntsman, and Shurtleff and ask them very tough questions about their stances.
UPDATE: Jennifer W. Sanchez offers "Undocumented kids' tuition break takes hit". She doesn't call those in favor of the appeal pigf***ers, but she does make them deny it:
Opponents of a law that allows undocumented students to pay in-state college tuition are adamant that their efforts to repeal the benefit have nothing to do with racial discrimination and everything to do with encouraging respect for the law.
Posted to Immigration2007a at 05:39 AM | Comments (0)
Swift hearing: Chertoff, Allard, Hatch, Klobuchar, Coleman, Harkin, Grassley
A bipartisan group of Senators will be holding a hearing on Monday to discuss the Swift & Company immigration raids.
Wayne Allard leads the confab, with help from: Orrin Hatch, Norm Coleman, Amy Klobuchar, Tom Harkin, Charles Grassley, and John Cornyn. Allard gets a B grade for recent immigration stances, and spoke out in favor of the raids. Although little information is available other than the very short AP blurb, I tend to suspect they'll offer a chance for many pro-amnesty Senators to, basically, whine.
Michael Chertoff will make an appearance and will almost certainly put in some good words for "comprehensive immigration reform".
Posted to Immigration2007a at 12:15 AM | Comments (3)
Catholic Flight and massive real estate profits
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York is closing 21 parishes in NYC, and opening or expanding others in the suburbs. There's no word on whether they're suffering from a net loss of parishioners or not, but the article does bury this news:
As for what will become of the church properties, officials said their goal was to convert them to other uses in the archdiocese. If that was not possible, they said their preference was to hold on to the grounds and lease them out.
I seem to recall reading somewhere that New York City property is valuable or something, so I have the feeling they'll make out OK.
Posted to Immigration2007a at 09:58 PM | Comments (2)
WFMOJALI: Kyrsten Sinema (Minutemen as "domestic terrorists")
Welcome to yet another premiere, this time of the new WFMOJALI feature. Those initials stand for "Working For Mexico, Or Just Acts Like It?" On the one hand I don't think it's that likely that those to be featured are actually being paid by that government. But, on the other hand, it's difficult to tell the difference between their actions and those that an actual Mexican agent would perform.
Let's kick it off with Arizona state representative Kyrsten Sinema, a member of the Democratic Party and a former Green. Back in 2005 she was part of an ACLU of Arizona team which were "monitoring" the Minuteman Project, during which she tried to claim that Sean Hannity - there for a photo op - was an illegal alien because he'd stepped over the border. He'd actually stepped into a yard-wide buffer zone.
Apparently not forgiving or forgetting the ACLU being shown to be the illegal immigration-supporting fools that they are, she's now back with HB 2286. It would define "domestic terrorism" like so:
AN INDIVIDUAL OR GROUP OF INDIVIDUALS COMMITS DOMESTIC TERRORISM IF THE INDIVIDUAL OR GROUP OF INDIVIDUALS ARE NOT AFFILIATED WITH A LOCAL, STATE OR FEDERAL LAW ENFORCEMENT ENTITY AND ASSOCIATE WITH ANOTHER INDIVIDUAL OR GROUP OF INDIVIDUALS AS AN ORGANIZATION, GROUP, CORPORATION OR COMPANY FOR THE PURPOSE OF PATROLLING TO DETECT ALLEGED ILLEGAL ACTIVITY OR TO INDIVIDUALLY PATROL FOR THE PURPOSE OF DETECTING ALLEGED ILLEGAL ACTIVITY AND IF THE INDIVIDUAL OR GROUP OF INDIVIDUALS IS ARMED WITH A FIREARM OR OTHER WEAPON.
In Arizona you can openly carry weapons, and that description would fit not only some Minuteman Project volunteers, but perhaps even security companies, neighborhood watches, and even ranchers. There's probably an excellent chance it would be declared unconstitional.
And, Sinema is also working with David Lujan and Steve Gallardo to try to clarify Arizona's new anti-smuggling law. Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas has been arresting and trying to prosecute illegal aliens for smuggling themselves into the U.S. under that law. The sponsor of the original law, Rep. Jonathan Paton, says it was meant to be applied just to the smugglers. However, his original intent is probably not the major consideration in Sinema's, and Lujan's, and Gallardo's effort.
UPDATE: Sinema responds to the broadness of her proposal here:
"Block watches are neighborhood groups that coordinate on a regular basis with law enforcement officials in their state... But we don't have block-watch people who strap on their weapons, put a flag in their hat, and then go and sit on the street who is going to shoot the person who is going to jaywalk."
And, of course, you don't have Minuteman Project volunteers who do that either. If they had, rest assured that illegal immigration supporters would have never let us forget it. If they did, that's why we have other laws.
Posted to Immigration2007a at 08:28 PM | Comments (2)
Brandon Cropper reads from "The Fountainhead" by Ayn Rand (Part 1 of 3)
[This is court-mandated libertarian coverage.]
The first part (of three!) of Brandon Cropper reading from "The Fountainhead" by Ayn Rand is here. Enjoy!
Posted to WackyHumor at 02:22 PM | Comments (0)
Mel Martinez is GOP "general chairman": abandon the GOP
Senator Mel Martinez has been elected to the made-up title of "general chairman" of the Republican Party's National Committee (RNC). Despite a secret ballot, not that many might have voted against him.
I would strongly suggest to all GOP members that now is the absolute best time to turn your backs on the party in an attempt to change their pro-illegal alien amnesty ways. Specifically, if anyone asks you for money, tell them no, and tell them the reason why.
In interminable remarks, Martinez recounts his early years in Cuba and the U.S. While he doesn't say it explicitly, he lets us know that we are indeed a Land Of Immigrants[TM] and that present immigration is just like that of the past:
He and I, like so many other immigrants, came here not to change America, but to be changed by the American experience ... and we were.
Then:
We're the party of lower taxes and less spending because we know that government doesn't create jobs and economic growth. The American people, the most industrious, innovative, driven people in the world do that. Today, across this great country, millions of men and women are hard at work.
Less spending? For those two words alone, should anyone take anything he says seriously? And, we're industrious now? Here I thought there were jobs Americans won't do. Perhaps he didn't mean U.S. citizens so much as everyone who resides here, legally or not. Which brings us to:
To be the Party of the future means that we also have to be a party that opens the door wide-open so that all Americans feel welcome. There are too many Americans who do not understand that the principles of Abraham Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, and Ronald Reagan speak to their hopes, their dreams, and their aspirations. I will take the message of our Party to all Americans... I want to make sure that we take that message to the broader Hispanic community [and not just Cubans], to the African-American community, and to all communities that may never have believed that Republican ideals spoke to them...
Yes, but what if that "broader Hispanic community" makes demands that strongly conflict with supposed present (or at least past) Republican principles? Obviously, those principles mean nothing to Bush and Rove, and the same almost assuredly is true of Martinez.
Posted to Politics at 01:33 PM | Comments (8)
Crooked Massachusetts Dems: count illegal aliens to save Cong. seat
As previously noted, illegal aliens count towards Congressional representation. Now, Democrats in Massachusetts are explicitly trying to count illegal aliens in their state in order to keep them from losing a Congressional seat... and the associated federal dollars. Clearly, this is at the very least unseemly. It also gives crooked politicians an incentive to flood the state with as many illegal aliens as possible. More backstory on this troubled state here...."We need to chase them," Secretary of State William Galvin said yesterday, stressing the need for an "all local" hunt for everyone living here.Contact him at (617) 727-7030 (sec.state.ma.us/seccon.htm)
Crucial to the census success: Convincing the estimated 150,000 to 200,000 illegal immigrants that they will simply be counted, not arrested.Contact him at 202-225-2836 (markey.house.gov).
"This is for real. A congressional seat is on the line," said Ali Noorani, executive director of the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition.
A high cost of living is driving younger residents out of the Bay State, which lags dramatically behind states in the South and the West in population growth. Massachusetts could lose one of its 10 seats in the U.S. House, as well as political clout and millions of dollars in federal funds appropriated by congressional district.
"The money to fund many important federal programs is distributed to the states on the basis of population, so everyone in Massachusetts has a major stake in ensuring that we are not shortchanged by failing to get an accurate population count," warned U.S. Rep. Edward Markey (D-Malden), the senior member of the state's congressional delegation.
The Census Bureau - which is indeed mandated to count everyone - is helping the effort along by starting their vote early. Whether that was prompted by the issues above isn't clear, but someone should find out. The article also states that college students will be included, and in the case of out-of-state students that may result in them being counted twice.
Posted to Immigration2007a at 10:14 AM | Comments (4)
BNP Ballerina taunted: "many more of us than you"
The case of the BNP Ballerina (England's Simone Clarke) spins and twirls, with this column defending her political rights and discussing a protest by far-lefties at one of her performances:
Despite her fear of mass immigration, Clarke has an immigrant boyfriend of Chinese-Cuban descent, also a dancer; there is a hint of inconsistency here surely, and the BNP certainly finds it a touch embarrassing. And then the protesters in the street [presumably Unite Against Fascism activists], who say that ethnic English people's fear of immigration is nothing but irrational racism, rather undermined their own case by shouting "We are Muslim, black and Jew, there are many more of us than you" — by this threat confirming that a fear of mass immigration is not merely irrational racism. Brilliant.
Posted to MultiCultiCult at 02:28 AM | Comments (2)
Catholics: discredit your pro-illegal immigration leaders!
From this:
The crowd of people, notebooks and pens in hand, who gathered in the social hall of St. Ambrose Church Jan. 10 were more people than Diocesan Government Liaison Dee Rowland is used to seeing at her presentations of the Catholic Church's policies on immigration, migration, and refugees, she said. She greeted each person with a welcoming smile and encouraged them to ask questions.
I'm sure Mrs. Rowland is a wonderful person. However, I want to encourage all Catholics reading this to go to similar meetings and completely, utterly discredit their local versions of Dee Rowland. Relentlessly cross-examine them; use logic to completely discredit and eviscerate their weak arguments; do not give up until they admit that they have no argument at all.
Posted to Immigration2007a at 10:27 PM | Comments (2)
Schwarzenegger: aid for illegal alien farmworkers
Mexico-linked "centrist" Arnold Schwarzenegger has declared that farmworkers affected by the recent freeze in the Central Valley - including those here illegally - will be receiving state aid:
"Everyone will get help [a massive aid package but not including unemployment]... We are not here collecting immigration statuses."
What a humanitarian! Say, did you know that Arnie's Big Trip to Mexico included California growers whining about the lack of plentiful cheap labor? Did you know that neither the SacBee nor any other "news" source I could find disclosed who those growers were or their affiliations? That way, we don't know whether one of them was the politically-connected Luawanna Hallstrom or one of the many other politically-connected growers. And, because of this malfeasance on the part of the AP and others most people aren't going to figure out that Arnie's probable goal with his latest giveaway to Mexican citizens has much more to do with helping corrupt growers profit from illegal immigration than from humanitarianism.
Then, we get this charming news:
In winter months, the citrus industry provides thousands of jobs in Fresno County, which employs more farmworkers than any other California county, according to federal statistics. But even during a normal year, about 40 percent of farmworkers in the county risk going hungry during the winter, according to the California Institute for Rural Studies.
Of course, it's a bit difficult to take the word of what is no doubt a far-left, pro-illegal immigration organization. However, I have little doubt that they aren't far off.
And, that situation is what Arnie and his grower friends really support.
Posted to California at 09:10 PM | Comments (2)
Congressional Pardon for Railroaded Border Patrol Agents
Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA) has introduced the Congressional Pardon for Border Patrol Agents Ramos and Compean Act, which would try to seek a pardon for those BP agents who appear to have been railroaded by their own government. The bill is co-sponsored by Ed Royce (R-CA), who says that they already have 67 Republicans signed on.
Awakened to the political implications, Bush has seen his shadow and is now publicly saying that there's the possibility he might issue a pardon.
Doh! The Democrats could have taken the lead on this matter, but, to be polite, they were too dumb to do so.
Posted to Immigration2007a at 07:45 PM | Comments (1)
"Arnold's gross dishonesty" (a "fee" or a "tax"?)
As discussed here, Arnold Schwarzenegger ran on a "no new taxes" platform and accused Phil Angelides of never meeting a tax he didn't want to implement. Now, the new "centrist" Arnie wants to finance his healthcare-for-all (including illegal aliens) scheme using a set of what he calls "fees". They are, in actual fact, "taxes". While it's not discussed at that link, the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association (site) has said that they might sue to get Arnie to use the correct language.
Posted to California at 10:51 AM | Comments (1)
May Day 2007: Ramsey Clark to march for illegal aliens' rights
Ramsey Clark's International Action Center is urging fellow travelers to answer the call for "immigrant's rights" by attending the "National Conference" in Los Angeles on February 3 where plans for the "Great American Boycott II" will be hatched. That boycott/march will take place on May 1, 2007, and it will repeat the "successes" of last year's effort:
On May Day 2006 history was made. The world watched as millions marched and boycotted the economy. We shut down the economy in several key cities, states and border entries. In Los Angeles alone we shut down the ports, trucking, taxis, construction, public transportation, agriculture, gardening, home-care and day-care work, small and chain restaurants and stores, factories, garment, meat industry, offices, etc. In the Midwest meat packing and auto parts plants were shut, in Florida, agriculture and construction. In El Paso Texas 40,000 migrants refused to cross the border. In New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Oakland, Phoenix, Tucson, San Jose, San Antonio, Orange County, and San Diego and in many other cities the boycott succeeded. Students walked out, Businesses closed and the people refused to buy. In Mexico, Central America and many other countries US corporations were targeted by millions of workers. It was truly a Day without Immigrants.
In actual fact, it was a great day, which they could only make better by extending it to a month or two or more.
The endorsers of this effort are listed as:
* March 25th Coalition LA
* May 1st Coalition-New York
* Border Social Forum (100 organizations on both sides of the border, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, California, Oregon, Washington State, Colorado, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Sinaloa, Sonora, Baja California, etc.)
* Southwest Workers Union-San Antonio
* International Action Center
* NALAAC-National NGO Florida Convention
* Hermandad Mexicana Nacional-California-Nevada [Larry "Nativo" Lopez' group]
* Elvira Arellano in Sanctuary Adalberto Church Chicago
* Emma Lozano-Centro Sin Fronteras (friend of the previous)
* California Peace & Freedom Party
* LUUM-Latinos Unidos de Michigan
* BAYAN National
* International Workers of the World
* Centro Obrero, Michigan
* US-Cuba Labor Exchange
* Freeport Workers Center
* Justice for Filipino Workers
* Pachamama Ecuadorian Immigrant Organization
* Million Worker March
Posted to Immigration2007a at 05:59 AM | Comments (0)
SEIU wants a massive illegal alien amnesty for all
In case it wasn't already clear, the SEIU (Service Employees International Union) has announced its "agenda for comprehensive immigration reform" by sending a "detailed letter" to Teddy Kennedy, which, of course, is preaching to the choir:The letter identified core reform principles to which SEIU is committed, including legalization, a new worker program, labor and civil rights law enforcement, family backlog reduction, and border security.If you actually think it through - as SEIU probably hasn't - what they support would be a de facto open borders policy, as anyone who could make it over the border would be put on the "path to citizenship".
"Successful reform mandates the most expansive earned legalization provisions that would make eligible the largest number of undocumented persons," wrote Stern and Burger. "If only half or two-thirds of the targeted population would be eligible for legalization, undocumented workers will continue to fuel an underground economy, with negative impacts on all workers, employers, and communities."
The letter added, "We neither subscribe to nor endorse a repeat of the failed 'guest worker' programs. Any new worker program must include worker protections including: portability of visas so that workers can change jobs, the right to join unions and have full labor rights, the right to bring their families with them, and the ability to self-petition for permanent residency and citizenship."
Posted to Immigration2007a at 02:25 AM | Comments (3)
Alliance for Immigration Reform 2007
From this we learn of yet another coalition in favor of massive immigration, this one calling itself the "Alliance for Immigration Reform 2007". Its members include:
* R. Bruce Josten, executive vice president, U.S. Chamber of Commerce;
* Eliseo Medina, international vice president, Service Employees International Union;
* Cecilia Munoz, vice president, National Council of La Raza;
* Bishop Thomas G. Wenskiof, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops
* Frank Sharry, executive director, National Immigration Forum
Compare their membership roster to that of the "Independent Task Force on Immigration and America's Future". Much like Yassir Arafat and Ringo Starr being basically the same person, I believe there are actually only 17 supporters of illegal immigration in the entire world.
Posted to Immigration2007a at 10:03 PM | Comments (1)
SHOCKER: BUSH BACKTRACKS ON ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION
Shocking news has just hit the wires, as President Bush has backtracked on his previous strong support for illegal immigration.In a brief statement released by the White House, Bush has admitted mistakes he made concerning massive illegal immigration, including his willful failure to enforce our immigration laws resulting in millions of illegal aliens entering during his six years in office.
Speaking in the Rose Garden, Bush made the following statement:
"I hereby admit mistakes that I've made in the past, and I pledge to finally begin enforcing our immigration laws as I should have been doing these past years. I apologize to the American public for refusing to do what they want and instead doing the bidding of a small number of special interests."
"I realize, however, that my new pledge to do what I swore I would do will result in various dislocations. Therefore, I am also announcing that our forces are currently advancing on the Punjab, and its lands and abundant low-priced labor will soon be available for use by our strawberry, avocado, artichoke, kiwi fruit, and other necessary speciality fruit and vegetable growers. These speciality growers are truly essential to our economy, and I will do whatever is necessary to make sure that they keep growing their vital crops."
"In addition, we are now occupying the greater part of Honduras, and its labor and land are available for use by banana, plaintain, and other growers of vitally important tropical fruit. We will be offering generous resettlement bonuses to qualified growers so that they may begin establishing plantations in these, the jewels of America's overseas possessions."
"I thank you for your time."
Posted to Immigration2007a at 09:27 PM | Comments (0)
Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007: S9
Via this and this we learn that Harry Reid has introduced Senate Bill 9 (S.9, S9), the "Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007". This actually took place on January 4, and it's a very short placeholder, no doubt to be stuffed with loopholes and such at a later date.
The co-sponsors of this bill are: Barbara Boxer, Maria Cantwell, Patrick Leahy, Chuck Schumer, and Debbie Stabenow. Leahy responded to the introduction with an enormous pile of verbage, from which it's difficult to select the worst parts so let's concentrate on some from the top of the pile:
We need to put aside the mean-spiritedness and short-sighted policies driven by fear and recognize the dignity of those whose work contributes to reinvigorating America. Consistent with our heritage as a nation of immigrants we need to bring people out of the shadows... Through comprehensive immigration reform, we can increase the opportunities for American businesses to obtain the workers they need while ensuring that priority is given to willing domestic workers -- from dairy farms in Vermont to multi-national corporations. We have been told of the plight of American farmers from New York to California and have seen the photographs of piles of rotting fruit that have gone unharvested.
Of course, Leahy did not do his job and look into whether those growers were simply lying in order to obtain cheap labor. And, the press did not do their job by calling him on his blather.
Posted to Immigration2007a at 02:51 PM | Comments (1)
Washington Post to openly publish fiction
The Washington Post is breaking new ground in journalism:
Washingtonpost.com is publishing fiction for the first time, serializing the debut novel of Post Business section reporter David Hilzenrath.
The rest of this post is a mere formality, because the reader has no doubt already figured out that that paragraph is itself a work of fiction: the WaPo has been publishing fiction for years and calling it fact.
Posted to Miscellania at 02:46 PM | Comments (0)
The Social Security for Illegal Aliens loophole
Rep. John Boozman (R-AR) says:
There is no provision in current law to differentiate between SSA benefits earned by legal and illegal immigrants. H.R. 332 is designed to close the loophole in the law that will give the same benefits to unauthorized work done by an illegal immigrant and a legal immigrant who followed the rules and worked hard for the American Dream.
Posted to Immigration2007a at 02:42 PM | Comments (1)
Youtube goes nuts with the links, part 2
This is a follow-up to the first post about linking issues at Youtube, specifically relating to their (perhaps Google-inspired) use of the odious nofollow tag. In the following images, links within a salmon-colored box with a dashed border have that tag, ones without that change are normal, old-school style web links.
The first shows that one of my sites is responsible for over 2% of the views for one of their popular videos. Despite that, I get the tag:
On the plus side, a link to another of my sites that I just added to the description of a video I had uploaded in November does not have that tag:
UPDATE: I wish to fully and completely distance my complaints from these.
Posted to Miscellania at 12:59 PM | Comments (0)
Tony Snow: immigration laws weren't enforced "seriously"
Les Kinsolving asked Tony Snow this question:
"With regard to your statement, 'border guards must obey the law, too,' [a Ramos/Compean reference] question, now how have so many millions of illegal aliens been able to enter our country if the president and his predecessor were seriously enforcing border and immigration laws?"
I invite everyone to put on their Bill Clinton Circuitousosity Caps[TM] and carefully parse Snow's response:
"Well, obviously there was a point where, in fact, it was not enforced seriously... That's why the president has committed more resources than anybody in history and has made further commitments about border security in the future, not only in terms of personnel, but also technology, and has made a - and, furthermore, has been far more aggressive than anybody ... in terms of what we call interior enforcement, going after employers in a way that nobody else has done..."
One will note that Snow is not going as far as Karl Rove, who admitted that six million illegal aliens entered the U.S. on Bush's watch. In fact - as long as we parse that in the correct, Clintonian fashion - it appears that he's blaming Clinton for everything, and then trying to portray Bush as trying to fix the problem.
Almost certainly while winking in the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's direction:
Snow continued that the message to employers is: "If you're hiring illegals and you're doing it all – if you're hiring illegals, we're going after you, and especially if you're doing it in a way that you have people who are here illegally who are also taking jobs that Americans might want to have," "Snow said.
The last is, of course, a departure from the frequent Bush quote that illegal aliens are "taking jobs Americans don't want", which was subsequently changed to them "doing jobs Americans aren't doing".
There's more regarding the Ramos/Compean case at the link, and Joseph Farah comments on that case in Presidents must obey law, too.
Posted to Immigration2007a at 12:30 PM | Comments (4)
DHS OIG: immigrants were mistreated at detention facilities
The DHS's (Department of Homeland Security) inspector general has released a report claiming that immigrants - apparently both legal and illegal - were mistreated at various ICE facilities around the country:...U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials and contractors denied timely medical treatment to some of the immigrants, failed to disclose and justify disciplinary actions against them, and improperly limited access to relatives, lawyers and immigration authorities, according to the Department of Homeland Security inspector general.However:
Detention officers failed to establish a system to report abuse and violated health and safety rules by neglecting to monitor prisoners on hunger strikes or suicide watches and by serving undercooked food, the report said...
Civil liberties and immigrant advocacy groups are stepping up scrutiny of conditions. Jorge Bustamante, the U.N. special rapporteur on human rights of immigrants, has asked to visit U.S. detention centers next month.I think we know what the U.N. is going to say. Our homegrown far-lefties mentioned as complaining are: "Judy Rabinovitz, a lawyer with the ACLU immigrants rights project"; "Eric Lerner, a spokesman for the New Jersey Civil Rights Defense Committee"; and "Bryan Lonegan, a lawyer with the Legal Aid Society in New York City".
Critics of the agency called the report disappointing, contending that it watered down recommendations and ignored the most serious allegations of abuse collected since June 2004, which they said included physical beatings, medical neglect, food shortages and mixing of illegal immigrants in administrative custody with criminals.
If all the ACLU and the others did was complain about and try to end such possible abuses, that would be one thing and they might get more widespread support. Unfortunately, as their actions (and the ACLU's indirect link to the Mexican government) consistently show, their agenda is much more broad and seems to be an attempt to weaken our enforcement of immigration laws across the board.
Posted to Immigration2007a at 12:18 PM | Comments (0)
Mel Martinez, Republican National Committee Chair: the upside
The Republican National Committee natives are restless about Bush's nomination of illegal alien amnesty proponent Mel Martinez to be the "general chairman" of the RNC. The vote will be tomorrow, and the reader might consider contacting their local Republican parties and suggesting votes against the Senator.
On the other hand, if Martinez becomes chairman the GOP will be led by those explicitly in favor of massive immigration of whatever kind, and, combined with the Democrats' stances that might lead to the formation of a viable third party of the pro-American variety. And, it might greatly reduce the viability of those GOP hacks who, come election time, present the GOP as the lesser of two evils.
Martinez was originally just to be the "honorary chairman", but that's since been changed to a title not included in the RNC rules. Because of that - as well as the fact that Martinez is not an RNC member - opponents plan a parliamentary challenge, and will even have an "independent certified parliamentarian" on hand to make sure the rules are followed. If they aren't, legal action might take place.
Posted to Politics at 03:54 PM | Comments (1)
National Day Laborer Organizing Network protesting John and Ken
Members of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network are currently protesting in front of KFI-AM Los Angeles, specifically relating to the immigration coverage offered by hosts John and Ken. They apparently have friends from the religious community with them, and they're trying to attach their pro-illegal immigration efforts to the civil rights struggles from the 60s. They chanted "KFI stop the hate" and held a moment of silence. And, in all of their quotes that KFI broadcast they used the words "immigration" and "immigrants" when they're actually refering to the illegal varieties.
One of the leaders is from CARECEN (Central American Resource Center).
Posted to Immigration2007a at 03:37 PM | Comments (0)
Ramos/Compean: how the Democrats could make Bush look very bad
Ramos and Compean are the two Border Patrol agents who appear to have been railroaded by their own government and who were sentenced to more than ten years in prison. Despite several efforts by Congressmen and other groups, Bush refused to grant them a pardon. Pending any last-minute action by a judge or even Bush, they'll begin serving their sentences tomorrow.
The reader is encouraged to contact the White House at 202-456-1111 or 202-456-1414 and let your thoughts be known. Additional people who can be contacted here.
While it's certainly unlikely, this would be a great opportunity for moderate Democrats to join in a bipartisan effort and by so doing make Bush look even worse. Lacking that, perhaps issuing a pardon might be one of the first bipartisan efforts made by, say, President Clinton.
Posted to Immigration2007a at 03:05 PM | Comments (0)
Tancredo may run for president; Chris Cannon begins smears?
Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-CO) has announced he's forming an exploratory committee for a possible presidential bid. This would be largely a symbolic effort designed to get a wider discussion of immigration issues and perhaps force a front-runner to take a tougher stance on the issue.Despite the unlikelihood of his success, expect those corrupt forces who profit from or otherwise support illegal immigration to begin a campaign of their own, this one featuring little more than smears. And, it will be aided and abetted by the corrupt media, both of the mainstream and non-mainstream varieties.
Speaking of which, via this comes the American Spectator's "Washington Prowler" with "Tancredo's Dubious Allies". It features the thoughts of an unnamed "staffer for one of Tancredo's colleagues in the House of Representatives". Based on the thoughts and past events, I would say there's about a 95% chance it's Chris Cannon, but one can never know:
"He's going to paint himself as a mainstream conservative," says the staffer for one of Tancredo's colleagues in the House of Representatives. "But the folks he's associating with are not part of the mainstream."As an example of that expose, their "pro-eugenics roots" were because they got money from the Pioneer Fund, a group which had supported that ideology in the 30s. In the same decade they gave money to FAIR, they also gave money to: Tel Aviv University, Stanford, New York Hospital - Cornell Medical Center, Randolph-Macon Woman's College, and the Sickle Cell Disease Foundation of Greater New York.
...In fact, it's not clear Tancredo is in line with the mainstream, social conservative wing of the GOP he seeks to align himself with. According to campaign finance reports, one of Tancredo's biggest financial backers has been the family of Dr. John Tanton, the founder of the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR). Wall Street Journal editorial-page features writer Jason Riley wrote a devastating piece [link] about the organization back in 2004, in which the group's pro-abortion and pro-eugenics roots were revealed...
Riley's "expose" was simply a smear, and it was followed-up with similar smears from Chris Cannon. More contemporaneous information on Riley's smears here, here, and here. Note how this smear is similar to the Arizona Dems' attempts to smear Randy Graf.
Please send your thoughts to editor *at* spectator.org
UPDATE: Sleazy Glenn Reynolds ("Instapundit") links to the Spectator piece. Rather than analyzing the smear attempt as above or even just linking to someone who can point out that the Spectator was simply smearing, this is all he says:
THE PROBLEM WITH TOM TANCREDO: He's too liberal? Well, that's a new slant.
Posted to Politics at 11:21 AM | Comments (1)
Catholic bishops actively encouraging illegal immigration
Sunday was apparently "World Day of Migrants and Refugees", and border bishops celebrated by actively encouraging illegal immigration. If you know someone who puts money in the collection plate, please send them this article:...After a two-month journey, which began near the Honduras and Nicaragua border, the road-weary cousins surveyed the final obstacle, separating them from the opportunity to work even as immigration Jeeps parked on the U.S-side of the river.Why not just get into the smuggling business? Or, perhaps work with the Mexican and Central American governments to help them find more efficient ways to avoid their responsibilities?
The comforting arms of the Rev, Michael D. Pfeifer, a bishop from San Angelo, Texas, hooked over the shoulders of Lourdes and Marisol, who were dressed in clothes donated from the Casa Migrante.
"We want to get to the other side," Lourdes said. "I have a cousin living in Virginia. That's where we're headed."
Pfeifer assured the woman that they would reach their destination by the grace of God. His words were returned with timid smiles...
Later, the Most Rev. Raymundo Pena, bishop of the Diocese of Brownsville, called for a "comprehensive answer to immigration" and spoke out against the "construction of a wall that places new taxes on North Americans and destroys the good existing relations to date between neighbors cannot bring us towards a common goal."
Catholics who are tired of such activities are strongly encouraged to stop giving money and let it be known why. And, attempt to publicly discredit those church leaders who support massive illegal immigration.
Posted to Immigration2007a at 10:57 AM | Comments (0)
Mexican citizens helping Kennedy, McCain, Flake, Berman set immigration policy
In September of last year, the "Independent Task Force on Immigration and America's Future" - "convened by the Migration Policy Institute in partnership with Manhattan Institute and the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars" - released their report called "Immigration and America's Future: A New Chapter".
Two members of the "task force" are former elected officials (Spencer Abraham and Lee Hamilton), but four of them are currently supposedly working for us: Howard Berman, Jeff Flake, Edward Kennedy, and John McCain.
Another member is Fernando Garcia, executive director of the El Paso-based Border Network for Human Rights. He's also a Mexican citizen with a green card. The article "D.C. hears El Pasoan's ideas about reforms" by Louie Gilot has a profile of him and his work, which includes organizing pro-illegal immigration marches in El Paso. Most of his organization's funding comes from a $375,000 grant from the Ford Foundation.
Two other Mexican officials were involved in this report: Geronimo Gutierrez and Carlos de Icaza, their ambassador to the U.S.
The MPI is a private organization, and it's not completely questionable that former elected officials might want to seek out foreign input. However, when current elected officials do it, and they have views more to the open borders side of things than not, it seems quite unseemly. One wonders exactly how many minutes McCain, Kennedy, Flake, and Berman have spent seeking out the opinion of pro-borders Americans versus the time they've spent hobnobbing with open-borders Mexicans.
Even the MPI seems to have realized this whole scheme is borderline, offering this footnote on their page:
Because of their legislative roles, currently serving members of Congress were not asked to endorse the Task Force recommendations.
A full list of those involved in the "task force" reads like the cast of a horror movie with the U.S. as the unlucky teen campers. It includes Doris Meissner, Thomas J. Donohue of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Tamar Jacoby, Janet Murguia of the National Council of La Raza, and Frank Sharry of the National Immigration Forum among many others.
Posted to Immigration2007a at 05:55 AM | Comments (0)
Calderon starts jobs program
From this:President Felipe Calderon launched a program Monday to create jobs for young Mexicans and curb the flow of millions of migrants to the United States.
The program will give cash incentives to companies for hiring first-time job holders. Calderon, who took office in December, campaigned on promises to boost employment opportunities in Mexico, vowing to be the "Jobs President."
Posted to Immigration2007a at 02:49 AM | Comments (0)
Award for "Most Unique Outlier Designed to Support Illegal Immigration" goes to...
Media sources have a habit of coming up with extreme examples of the vagaries of our immigration laws in order to promote their agenda (or help their owners, advertisers, and associates make money). For instance, when promoting discounted college educations for illegal aliens, they'll seek out someone who's a National Merit Scholar, an Eagle Scout, and a budding concert violinist, all the while ignoring the vast majority of other illegal alien students who aren't in that same league.
But, one paper has managed to leap and jump ahead of all others.
The award for the "Most Unique Outlier Designed to Support Illegal Immigration" goes to...
The envelope please...
The Award goes to the St Louis Post-Dispatch for the un-bylined article "Almost-lifelong U.S. resident caught in web of stricter immigration laws".
Make no mistake about it: this article is simply propaganda designed to make people think someone who's lived here for decades without proof of residency is equivalent to someone who paid a smuggler and then bought phony documents.
Posted to Immigration2007a at 12:42 AM | Comments (0)
Schwarzenegger, Fabian Nunez, and Andres Martinez for President!
Andres Martinez is the editor of the Los Angeles Times editorial board, and I believe he is the author of the unsigned editorial "Left out in '08: Arnold Schwarzenegger can't run for president because the founding fathers didn't want a foreign king." While there's no real burning need to allow naturalized citizens to serve as president, the LAT wants to tinker with the Constitution and make it happen anyway.
They inform us that past fears no longer apply:
...the founders were worried in the 18th century that our fledgling nation might go the way of Poland and be overtaken by a foreign monarchy... And now that we can all rest assured that no foreign monarch is going to move into the White House, it's long past due for this nation of immigrants to amend the Constitution to allow naturalized Americans to aspire to the presidency...
It's so wonderful to live in the modern age when past concerns no longer apply and everything is right with the world and we don't have to worry about threats to the nation. Of course, that sentence applies to the fantasy world the LAT is trying to present.
In the real world there are plenty of native-born and naturalized Americans with divided loyalties and questionable links, and while monarchies are less of an (overt) force than they were in the past, nowadays we have a close equivalent in global elites to whom rules that bind the commonfolk frequenly do not apply.
Can someone like Arnold be trusted to be president? Based on his performance to date, obviously no. He even has dual citizenship; if things go south here, he could always just move back to Austria. Those who were born in the U.S. only have the option of staying here or going into exile in a foreign country.
What about other foreign-born people like Andres Martinez or CA Assembly speaker Fabian Nunez? Exactly what sort of loyalty do they have to the U.S.? Can we afford to find out?
I am, however, all in favor of giving the L.A. Times a sandbox version of the Constitution they can tinker with to their heart's content.
Posted to Politics at 08:11 PM | Comments (0)
SPP: glossy tri-lingual brochures and deep integration
WND has obtained copies of glossy brochures from the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America (spp.gov) entitled "2005 Report to Leaders" and "2006 Report to Leaders". The brochures offer an overview of the "deep integration" of Canada, the U.S., and Mexico that many of our "leaders" have in mind. This "deep integration" could eventually lead to a North American Union: the de jure or de facto merging of the countries into one entity:The 2005 and 2006 reports continue to discuss numerous memoranda of understanding and other agreements that the trilateral working groups are formulating on their own, without direct congressional oversight or any reference to being published in the Federal Register. Yet, the vast majority of the agreements reached under SPP have never been published.One such embedded site is pi.energy.gov/naewg.html
The reports discuss the SPP's trilateral modification of administrative rules and regulation under the rubric of "integrating" and "harmonizing" into a "North American" structure what previously were administrative rules and regulations of the U.S., Canada, and Mexico...
..."Now that we see books being published by SPP, how can anyone deny that the Bush administration is involved in a process of North American deep integration?" asks Jerome R. Corsi, author and WND columnist who is writing a book on the movement. "SPP is creating North American regulations that replace and supersede U.S. regulations in a wide range of policy areas. Just the three-language format of the full color production is enough to let readers know that the Bush administration considers our appropriate regulatory scope to be North American in nature. We no longer have a U.S. energy policy, for instance, we have a North American energy policy."
..."SPP is one of the best kept secrets in Washington," Corsi told WND, "even though SPP has a website, there are SPP websites embedded in the websites of many government agencies, and now SPP is publishing full-color books in three languages. Yet, nobody in Washington has bothered to hold a single SPP hearing. Meanwhile, we are being led into regional government by bureaucrats whose mission is to create North American policies, not to worry about the sovereignty of the United States."
Posted to NAU at 12:04 PM | Comments (4)
DWRNTC: concentration camps for illegal aliens?
Welcome to the premiere edition of "DWRNTC", which stands for "Do We Really Need This Crap?" These posts will highlight completely unnecessary crap to which we would not be subjected if our immigration laws were enforced.
First up is the recent spate of articles from far-left racial advocates claiming that the DHS is imprisoning illegal aliens in "concentration camps". If our laws had been enforced this would not be an issue, and as long as our laws are not enforced unneeded crap like this will keep coming up.
First example is Some Dare Call Them "Concentration Camps" (Pt. 1) by David Neiwert of Orcinus. That's a follow-up to posts by fellow BrainFireLakeDog contributor Pachacutec, who started the ball rolling. Other notables mentioned in the "article" are Digby, Lambert at Correntewire, and Latina Lista. The latter offers the more recent "Update on U.S. Concentration Camp for Immigrant Families".
The latter informs us that the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas is on the case (that organization's indirect link to the Mexican government is, of course, not disclosed). Also, Jay J. Johnson-Castro, Sr. - who walked a hundred or so miles along the border to protest the fence - is planning a much longer march from San Diego to the T. Don Hutto Residential facility in Taylor, Texas in mid-February.
To a certain extent, these far-lefties/racial advocates might have a point on specific issues. However, if there were many fewer illegal aliens in the U.S. things like this would never be in a position to happen. We wouldn't need the border fence, and things like Halliburton getting a $385 million detention facilities contract would look extremely suspicious instead of looking like a necessity.
Posted to Immigration2007a at 11:23 AM | Comments (0)
Corrupt, irrational evangelicals supporting illegal immigration
The article "Christian groups torn over illegals" says this:"Evangelicals have had so much success evangelizing among immigrants that they have a real sympathy with those communities," [John Clifford Green, a senior fellow at the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life] said.Apparently a segment of evangelical leaders support illegal immigration because they want to grow their churches. In other words, they're just as corrupt as businesses that seek to profit from illegal labor. And, the segment of Latino evangelicals support illegal immigration out of racial solidarity.
Hispanics are one of the fastest-growing segments of evangelical Christianity in America because of high conversion rates in the United States and Latin America and high birthrates among Hispanic evangelicals, said Gaston Espinosa, an assistant professor of religious studies at Claremont McKenna College in California.
"The Latino evangelical community is much more sympathetic to immigration reform ... because a significant percentage of their community is undocumented," said Mr. Espinosa, a specialist on religious trends among Hispanics. "They don't support any sort of proposal that would send them over the border."
Then:
The Jewish Community Relations Council, the lobbying arm of the Jewish community in the Washington region, holds similar policy positions. The council opposes legislation that prohibits illegal immigrants from obtaining public social services.Someone tell me she didn't just not only invoke Godwin's Law but also compared the Mexican government to the Nazis.
"Most of our community in Washington can remember when grandparents or great-grandparents came over from Europe and the hostile reason for which they came over," said Debra Linick, a program director who handles Virginia legislation.
If these religious leaders want to support human rights and be good humanitarians and look for converts, let me suggest that they do it in those illegal aliens' home countries. And, let me suggest that when being good humanitarians to illegal aliens in this country they encourage them to go home. Anything else is a bit unsavory and, well, crooked.
Posted to Immigration2007a at 11:15 AM | Comments (0)
Bush renominated Julie Myers to head Immigration and Customs Enforcement
Last week the Bush administration renominated Julie Myers, the current head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement who had been made a recess appointment after her initial nomination met resistance. While at the time she had no relevant prior experience, she was eminently qualified in Bush administration terms: she's the niece of former Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Richard Myers and she's married to Michael Chertoff's chief of staff.
Just for fun:
Russ Knocke, a DHS spokesman, said Myers has "demonstrated outstanding leadership and vision during her tenure, and has established a new and powerful federal law enforcement agency." He urged the Senate to move quickly to confirm her.
Posted to Immigration2007a at 10:37 AM | Comments (0)
Trans-Texas Corridor: the downsides
The Trans-Texas Corridor is a scheme to build a massive toll highway running through Texas from Mexico. It will be up to one-quarter of a mile wide, with four lanes for cars and trucks, rail lines, and oil and gas lines.
As detailed here (reprinted here), it might only rarely have overpasses, splitting farms and ranches in two and forcing people to drive many miles in order to pass over it. The tolls might be as much as 44 cents per mile, making the cost of a trip from Dallas to San Antonio up to $118 in tolls alone.
And, it will be owned by a Spanish company, Cintra. Their contract includes a no-compete clause forbidding renovations to potentially competing roads, which could cause FM (farm-to-market) roads or even existing highways to fall into disrepair.
And, it will require somewhere between 500,000 and 1,000,000 acres to be seized under eminent domain.
Many more "ands" at the link.
Posted to NAU at 05:17 AM | Comments (0)
Zoe Lofgren, former immigration lawyer, heads House subcommittee on immigration
Dave Montgomery of McClatchy Newspapers offers a biased overview of immigration "reform"'s chance now that the Democrats are in charge. He specifically focuses on Zoe Lofgren:
As an immigration lawyer in Northern California, Zoe Lofgren helped struggling immigrant farmworkers keep their families together and stay in the United States... With her liberal credentials and pro-immigrant views, Lofgren embodies what many believe is a new day in the immigration debate as Congress, now under Democratic control, again confronts one of the nation's most contentious issues...
It truly is morning in America, except for those Republicans who belong to the "anti-immigration coalition" and those "anti-immigration forces in the House". On the other hand are the "moderate Republicans" (such as Jeff Flake of Arizona) who support "reform". The former support what the vast majority of Americans want. The latter are actually corrupt extremists who would vastly increase legal immigration and continue to allow massive illegal immigration.
Later on we're informed that the guest worker provisions of Bush's plan (and here we thought he only had guidelines) would bring in "thousands of foreign workers each year". At the end of the article, we're informed that McCain-Kennedy would involve "as many as 400,000 foreign workers". Thousands, hundreds of thousands, what's the difference?
Posted to Immigration2007a at 10:44 PM | Comments (0)
Gabrielle Giffords' first immigration speech
I've been told that one of the big blogging stories of 2006 was all the hacks, er, bloggers who were hired by campaigns. Well, guess what! This blog has just been hired by a politician you've probably heard of, and you'd never guess I'd be working for her, but I am.
Finally today I can announce: I've been hired to give the plain English, BS-free version of Gabrielle Giffords' speeches. The plucky Arizona legislator beat Randy Graf in November, sparking the massive Graf/Hayworth canard, and one of her top goals is finally "solving" the immigration crisis.
Here's my maiden attempt for "Gabby" (from the apparent transcript here):
Mr. Speaker, we have made some major accomplishments this week, but one area that particularly pertains to my district and to the State of Arizona has not been addressed and that's the crisis in illegal immigration. For too long Congress and Washington have failed to act and we must secure the border now.
(Gabby is saying all this to show that she's tough. Heck, some people might buy it so it's worth it.)
We must move this year with a sense of urgency to pass a comprehensive immigration reform package that's tough, effective, and practical.
(Here, Gabby is expecting the word "tough" to shine like a diamond in a lump of something or other. Of course, those "in the know" know that "comprehensive immigration reform" means a massive amnesty, but many of her constituents will only hear "tough". And, those "in the know" also realize the "sense of urgency" is needed because the natives are getting very, very restless.)
We need to increase border security using modern-era technology radar, drones, electronic surveillance. There must be more border patrol agents and more support for those border patrol agents.
(More "boob bait for Bubba", this of the "virtual", Bennie Thompson kind. Those "in the know" already ignored that paragraph or laughed how her omission of the real fence probably passed over the heads of the lumpen proles.)
We also need tough employer sanctions for those employers who are knowingly hiring people illegally and a guest worker program so that people can come in and work legally, safely, and return back to their home country.
(Of course, those "in the know" know that those sanctions would be as vigorously enforced as the current ones are: only when politically necessary and reluctantly at that. And, of course, Gabby lied: everyone knows most of our "guests" will never go home.)
Working to pass such measures will be my priority in this 110th Congress, and I look forward to working with members on both sides of the aisle on this important issue.
(Of course, the only ones excluded from that list of collaborators are a small number of Dems and a larger number of GOP House members who support what's in the U.S.'s best interests.)
Posted to Immigration at 07:59 AM | Comments (0)
Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman is a strong supporter of illegal immigration
But, you already knew that.
Further evidence comes from his pledge to oppose state Rep. Glenn Donnelson's attempt to repeal Utah's law giving illegal aliens discounted college educations:
"I'm going to fight it," said Huntsman, who added that he would "very seriously consider vetoing" a repeal.
Oddly similar: Texas Gov. Rick Perry made a similar pledge a couple days ago. Perhaps they're sharing notes or the same people are telling them what to do.
Posted to Immigration at 02:48 AM | Comments (0)
Media Matters for America shows left's regard for free speech
The Soros-funded leftwing nuts at Media Matters for America are latching on to the case of "Spocko" a blogger who posted audio recordings of KSFO (San Francisco, "Frisco") hosts Melanie Morgan and Brian Sussman to his website. Those may have been covered by fair use, but ABC/Disney (owners of the station) sent a cease and desist letter anyway and got "Spocko"'s site pulled.
David Brock of MMFA chimes in:
We are also gravely concerned that ABC/Disney has engaged in what appears to be corporate intimidation in an effort to silence the voices of those Americans who would dare to criticize this type of dangerous and un-American rhetoric.
I might somewhat agree with them. However, given MMFA's past statements I'm almost 99% sure that the samples they provide were taken out of context. And, MMFA is engaged in their own form of intimidation and makes it clear in the rest of their piece that they support free speech - just as long as it's not what they incorrectly refer to as "hate" speech. Those "liberals" who actually believe in things like free speech might want to read between the lines of MMFA's letter to see what they really support.
UPDATE: There's much, much, much more than you want to know about this issue here. It does indeed look like some of the quotes provided were taken out of context. Also, sleazeball Mike Stark is involved in this matter.
Posted to Miscellania at 10:22 PM | Comments (0)
MMP sues Compton
Something called the "Pro-Family Law Center" is helping the Minuteman Project sue Compton over that fine, peaceful city's refusal of a MMP attempt to use a room at Compton Community College before the election to hold a "Town Hall Meeting":
The purported reason for the denial was that Compton Community College does not authorize nor permit the use of its facilities by specific special interest or advocacy groups, nor for the advancement of specific candidates for public office.
They then used the Public Records Act to determine that:
Compton Community College's facilities have been used by/for (1) The Farrakan Event, (2) The Multi-cultural Youth Peace Summit/Registration Drive, and (3) The Black Student Union and Muhammad's Mosque Peacemakers.
Posted to Immigration at 04:30 PM | Comments (1)
Deval Patrick rescinds Mitt Romney's DHS partnership agreement
Massachusetts' new governor, Deval Patrick, has shown himself to be a true Democrat by rescinding an agreement arranged by Mitt Romney with the feds that allowed state troopers to arrest illegal aliens.
His alternate plan is to allow officials at two state prisons to determine the immigration status of prisoners and then somehow recommend them for deportation. They would probably need to do that through ICE or similar.
Whether his alternate plan is just a dodge is not known, but Patrick supported both discounted college educations and driver's licenses for illegal aliens in the campaign.
Posted to Immigration at 11:21 AM | Comments (5)
Texas Gov. Rick Perry strongly supports illegal immigration
Texas governor Rick Perry is closely following the George Bush playbook as he came out against attempts to prevent illegal aliens from taking Texas college tuition discounts from U.S. citizens. Some in Texas want to repeal the law he signed six years ago, and he's pledged to oppose their efforts. And, he's also revealed he's a liar:"The only way that you can be eligible for that in-state tuition is if you are in the process of getting your citizenship. If you're not in the queue, working towards getting your citizenship, you're not eligible for it," Perry said.But, wait, there's more:
"I think that's been highly overlooked in this debate."
However, under the law, students do not have to actually have applied for citizenship - they only have to promise that they will.
On other immigration-related issues, the governor repeated his vow to seek $100 million to strengthen security along the border, urged the federal government to enact a guest worker program and said he opposes legislation to remove citizenship rights from the Texas-born children of immigrants.The first is not only a drop in the bucket, it's also most likely just "boob bait for Bubba". The perils of "guest" worker schemes have been detailed here numerous times. And, he also thinks attempts to end birthright citizenship is "unconstitutional". Not exactly. If a state law is brought before the Supreme Court then we might know for sure. And, of course, Congress could deal with it as a federal matter.
Posted to Immigration at 05:12 AM | Comments (1)
Union Pacific wants train from Mexico to skip U.S. safety inspection
From this:Union Pacific is asking the Federal Railroad Administration to allow a train that regularly originates in Mexico to undergo safety inspections south of the border and enter without any checks in the U.S.Quite possibly related: Union Pacific acquiring land for railway from Mexican "superport"
..."The Union Pacific wants the train safety inspections to be performed in Mexico, where U.S. safety regulations have no force and need not be followed, and where the level of safety training and commitment is unknown," [Paul Thompson of the United Transportation Union] said.
Thompson further argues a drug war has been raging in Nuevo Laredo.
"It is too dangerous for Americans to set foot in Nuevo Laredo," Thompson said. "Union Pacific says with a straight face that mechanical safety inspections of trains can be performed safely in Mexico, but even its own officials won't travel there. Nor will FRA officials even visit the facility where these inspections allegedly will be performed by who knows whom, under unknown conditions, and with no U.S. federal safety oversight."
Posted to NAU at 02:08 AM | Comments (1)
EWIC, U.S. C of C blocked DHS "no-match" regulation?
Via this Dan Stein says:Representatives of the Essential Workers [Immigration] Coalition (see their member roster) and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce have asserted that they have successfully sabotaged implementation of a proposed DHS regulation which would require employers who receive 'no-match' letters from the Social Security Administration to correct the discrepancy, or be considered to have "constructive knowledge" of unlawful hiring of illegal aliens at their business.More at both links.
On a January 11, 2006 teleconference for immigration lawyers sponsored by the American Bar Association, Laura Reiff, a former INS attorney representing low-wage employers who hire large numbers of illegal aliens, said that the Chief Counsel of Customs and Border Protection (CBP)* Alfonso Robles, told her at a meeting at U.S. Department of Homeland Security headquarters in late December that his office was giving low-wage employers "a little Christmas present" by not sending the proposed regulation to the Office of Management and Budget at the White House. Failure to send a regulation to OMB effectively kills the proposed reform bureaucratically, out of the public eye...
Posted to Immigration at 12:27 AM | Comments (0)
Farmers Branch ordinance blocked on technicality
Farmers Branch is one of those cities trying to enact a Hazleton-style anti-illegal immigration ordinance. And, of course, they've been legally assailed by those on the other side. Earlier today State District Judge Bruce Priddy agreed with two FB residents and blocked the ordinance for 14 days. The identity of those residents is not known, but their suit appears to be different from the one brought by MALDEF and the ACLU, both of which have indirect links to the Mexican government.
Posted to Immigration at 11:11 PM | Comments (2)
California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation making signs for day laborers?
Is part of the mandate of the California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation - funded by the federal agency the Legal Services Corporation - to help day laborers make signs? This slightly incoherent article briefly discusses a counter-protest of "Minutemen supporters" by about a dozen day laborers, and:
The laborers said they had assistance in sign-making from four representatives of the California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation.
Note also that CRLAF is/was one of the endorsers of the AgJobs amnesty.
Posted to Immigration at 10:02 PM | Comments (0)
Video: John McCain and Asa Hutchinson
Two horrific tastes that belong together join in this campaign video from last year.
Posted to Immigration at 02:19 PM | Comments (0)
Alberto Gonzalez strokes Laredo over border violence
From this:U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales toured the World Trade Bridge on Wednesday, announcing a new effort to fight drug traffickers on the border. "We're concerned about violence in Mexico spilling into the U.S.," Gonzales said...Everything is getting better and better, and the Bush administration is hard at work solving problems. Just wait! Hope, growth, and opportunity! Every day in every way the Bush administration is getting better and better! The "decider" has a plan!
...He was scheduled to meet with his Mexican counterpart later Wednesday. Gonzales said Mexico's new government presents an opportunity for progress and early signs indicate that the country is moving in a positive direction. Cuellar also said he is optimistic that President Felipe Calderón is headed the right way...
...Gonzales touted the success of existing task forces...
...Gonzales said he wants to secure the border in a way that allows trade between Mexico and the U.S., and he also said the DOJ is focusing on workplace enforcement of immigration laws in the interior of the country...
Meanwhile, Gonzalez pledged the whopping sum of $300,000 on a new task force and ignored the families of kidnap victims who protested his visit.
Posted to Immigration at 01:06 PM | Comments (2)
Dairy farmers learn about immigration... in Mexico!
WHAM 13 can now reveal that:Upstate New York dairy farmers are heading to Mexico to better understand what drives their workers thousands of miles to find jobs in our neighborhood.What WHAM won't reveal is that this program - and the associated articles - are highly similar to one in Wisconsin promoted by fellow dairy farmer John Rosenow. Are such programs and the associated propaganda simply a coincidence?
Willow Bend Farm in Clifton Springs started 50 years ago with just one employee and a few cows. As the cattle grew into the thousands, the need for help grew, and in the 1990s the Mueller family turned to immigrant workers from Mexico for farm hands.
...John Davies is headed to Veracruz next week in a trip organized by Cornell Cooperative Extension to help dairy farmers relate to their workers. The farmers will spend a week in Mexico, learning about traditional farming, customs and life in their workers' home villages...
Posted to Immigration at 12:55 PM | Comments (1)
Fight the AgJobs amnesty (precursor to full amnesty)
As previously discussed, yesterday various amnesty supporters in the House and Senate reintroduced the AgJobs bill that would give amnesty to up to 1.5 million illegal alien farmworkers. In addition to the names previously mentioned:Last year's chairman of the House immigration subcommittee, Indiana Republican John Hostetler, staunchly opposed guest-worker bills. He was not re-elected in November. This year's immigration panel chair, California Democrat Zoe Lofgren, explicitly supports the agricultural guest-worker legislation.And, those behind the current push are apparently working on full "comprehensive immigration reform" akin to last year's Senate bill. Please contact all your representatives and urge them to oppose AgJobs, whether alone or included in a broader amnesty.
Likewise, the skeptical GOP chairman of the House Judiciary Committee — James Sensenbrenner of Wisconsin — has been replaced by a sympathetic Democrat, Rep. John Conyers of Michigan.
Posted to Immigration at 10:45 AM | Comments (0)
Maricopa County Attorney wants inquiry on National Guard border incident
From the AP:A prosecutor plans to ask state and federal lawmakers to investigate why National Guard members backed off from armed men who were near them at the Mexican border.
Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas said he was troubled by the retreat and questioned whether the rules the National Guard members operated under at the border were appropriate...
...Meanwhile, a state legislator said he will interview Maj. Gen. David Rataczak, head of the National Guard in Arizona, in a hearing of the new Homeland Security and Property Rights Committee soon.
"Why would this be allowed to happen?" asked Rep. Warde Nichols, the committee's chairman. "Why do we have National Guard running from illegals on the border? Are they (National Guardsmen) armed? Do they have bullets in their guns? We need some answers to some of these questions."
Rep. Russell Pearce, the Legislature's strongest voice on border security, said two National Guardsmen who work on the border told him their weapons do not have bullets.
Pearce said the unarmed soldiers are in harm's way and called the situation "absolutely outrageous."
Posted to Immigration at 05:45 AM | Comments (4)
Congressmen still fighting Ramos/Compean conviction
From this Lou Dobbs transcript:CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Texas congressman Ted Poe led a group of lawmakers demanding the Justice Department not oppose a request that former Border Patrol agents Jose Compean and Ignacio Ramos remain out of prison while their convictions for shooting an illegal alien Mexican drug smuggler are appealed. As we've reported, Ramos and Compean received 11 and 12-year sentences, while the Bush administration gave the wounded, allegedly unarmed drug smuggler, immunity from prosecution.Others involved are Reps. Tom Tancredo and Dana Rohrabacher.
REP. TED POE (R), TEXAS: And our federal government had the choice to make of being on the side a drug dealer who was bringing in a million dollars worth of drugs, or the side of two border agents that apparently were just enforcing the rule of law.
WIAN: Among issues expected to be raised during the agents' appeal, the grant of immunity and other benefits given to Oscar Aldrete-Davila, who was caught again smuggling an even bigger load of dope into the United States. And allegations of jury misconduct.
Texas federal judge Kathleen Cardone (ph) is expected to rule later this week on the agents' request to remain free until the appeal is heard.
REP. ED ROYCE (R), CALIFORNIA: It would be a grave miscarriage of justice if they were to be sent to prison for simply doing their job. Out of concern for their safety, they should not go to prison and should remain free on bond, pending their appeal.
WIAN: They're scheduled to surrender next Wednesday.
REP. DUNCAN HUNTER (R), CALIFORNIA: In this case, we'll have two of our best Border Patrol agents put in confinement with the very people that they brought to justice. That's like sending our soldiers or our Marines who have been -- who have been prosecuted into a confinement with al Qaeda.
WIAN: LOU DOBBS TONIGHT has learned the Justice Department will not oppose the bail request. Still, lawmakers are outraged President Bush refuses to intervene.
REP. WALTER JONES (R), NORTH CAROLINA: I am very, very disappointed in the indifference by this White House as it relates to these two men and their families.
Posted to Immigration at 02:41 AM | Comments (0)
"Explosive" border intrusion story confirmed?
This post has an update to the story linked here:
Also, this morning, there is finally official acknowledgment of my article. Joe Westmoreland, a congressional liaison for Customs and Border Protection, issued a statement this morning confirming that the Mexican paramilitary force was in uniform, and wearing ballistic vests, helmets, carrying automatic weapons, and moving in an aggressive military formation. Exactly as I'd reported on Monday.
Westmoreland appears to work/have worked for Nathan Deal (R-GA), but his remarks don't appear in Google News or on Deal's site that I can see. He probably said it, but where and when might be helpful to know.
Posted to Immigration at 10:27 PM | Comments (1)
"LULAC leader blames Americans for crimes by Mexicans"
From this:After a federal study revealed that a look at 100 illegal immigrants previously arrested and released for breaking state or local law had on an average been arrested six times, the president of the Dallas chapter of the League of United Latin Amercian Citizens (LULAC) made a controversial remark that has been the talk of the town.
Jesse Diaz, the LULAC leader, said while the report is flawed, he stands by his comments that if Americans want to blame anybody, they need to blame themselves.
"Now that they come to the United States, they're picking up those bad habits of shooting [and] drinking drugs," he said...
... But what Diaz said worries him the most is that the study only looked at 100 who broke criminal laws, but cast a cloud over the millions whose only crime is crossing the border illegally
"It teaches them to hate immigrants, and the majority of these immigrants are good people," he said...
Posted to Immigration at 09:33 PM | Comments (4)
Pew propaganda: Generation Next more "tolerant" of "immigration"
The Pew Research Center has held a poll of "Generation Next", those 18 to 25 years old. Let's take a look at their only immigration-related question. Respondents were given a choice between:
A. Immigrants today strengthen our country because of their hard work and talents
B. Immigrants today are a burden on our country because they take our jobs, housing and health care
52 of GNers said "A", compared to 39 of those older. Those responding "B" was about equal: 38 and 42. The "Neither/Both equally" choice was selected by 6% of GNers compared to 15% of those older. In effect, some of those older said neither/both instead of "A".
Pew casts this as:
In their political outlook, they are the most tolerant of any generation on social issues such as immigration, race and homosexuality.
Will Lester of the AP rewrites that as:
Have more liberal views than other generations on questions of race and homosexuality and immigration.
First, an alternate explanation is that - no offense to those included - those under 25 simply don't have enough knowledge and experience to understand everything involved in "immigration". And, of course, there's the matter of Pew's choice of words. What would the response be if they had asked about illegal immigration? What would the response be if they had asked about specific effects of different types of immigration? That we don't know, because all they asked is one extremely broad and almost unanswerable question.
And, of course, there's also the assumption that immigration is solely a "social issue" and that support for massive immigration is "liberal" or indicative of "tolerance".
Perhaps Pew should start over and this time concentrate on finding what people think rather than trying to push them into saying things Pew apparently wants them to say.
Posted to Immigration at 05:32 AM | Comments (1)
Arnie now taking role too seriously
From the prepared version of Arnold Schwarzenegger's state of the state address:
"I believe that together not only can we lead California into the future...we can show the nation and the world how to get there. We can do this because we have the economic strength, the population, the technological force of a nation-state. We are the modern equivalent of the ancient city states of Athens and Sparta. California has the ideas of Athens and the power of Sparta... One year ago I unveiled the 200 billion dollar plan that prepared California for the next ten years. We are a big state and we have big needs. And we made a big down payment. But the job is not finished..."
Memo to Arnie: this is not San Marcos. Sit down, let the painkillers wear off.
Immigration matters underlie much of what he discussed, yet there is not a single mention of the word "immig*". And, our "big needs" total around $43 billion.
Posted to California at 10:23 PM | Comments (1)
Memeorandum's immigration coverage
memeorandum.com is a tiny bit like the Drudgereport for blogs: it links to the supposed top stories of the day and the bloggers that are discussing those stories. And, it's posted several entries about immigration matters but, AFAIK, has only ever posted one link to this site. While most of those it links to have interesting contributions, not as many of them follow this issue as closely as this site and some of them are basically "drive-by" commentators. I've sent a couple emails suggesting that when posting about immigration-related matters they check this site for our coverage, but obviously that hasn't worked.
Now, certainly, there's no requirement to link to this site. And, this site chafes at the "blog" designation, prefering to think of itself as something a bit different, seeing as how we usually do things like check facts and even call people or go places. Since their site links to all manner of sites saying all manner of strange things, I don't think it's political bias so much as bias directed specifically against this site for some reason. Despite that, let's hope that Memeorandum does better.
UPDATE: My Memeorandum campaign has succeeded, resulting in a few links from relevant stories.
Posted to Bloggage at 08:44 PM | Comments (5)
Feinstein, Larry Craig to push AgJobs (illegal alien farmworker amnesty)
Garance Burke of the AP swallows grower propaganda till, tractor, and plow in "California farmers gear up to champion new guest worker bill". She also reveals that CA Senator Dianne Feinstein and Idaho Senator Larry Craig will be introducing a new farmworker amnesty scheme tomorrow. It appears to be a new version of AgJobs, and:
The bill would create a pilot program allowing people who have worked in agriculture for at least 150 days a year for three years, or 100 days per year for five years, to apply for a green card. It would grant legal status to no more than 1.5 million workers over five years, some of whom could apply for citizenship.
The rest of the article consists of growers making unopposed statements that strain credulity; see the "crops rotting in the fields" series for past examples. It also contains this statement that's wrong for one reason and raises questions for another:
Growers and farm worker advocates don't agree on how to fix a system that has allowed an estimated 12 million immigrants to enter the country illegally.
First, as the list of AgJobs endorsers (fourth link above) shows, those two nominally opposed forces have found common ground with this massive amnesty. Second, the "fix" needed are investigations of donations made to politicians and whether those have any bearing on those politicians then refusing to enforce our laws or supporting efforts not to enforce them. Whether Burke realizes this, or whether she thinks that new legislation would solve the problem isn't clear.
Then, we get this Feinstein quote:
"Virtually everybody agrees that agriculture is an industry that cannot do well without the undocumented worker... And the people are coming to the realization that there won't be a comprehensive immigration bill. The first step was taken with the border security bill. (A guest worker program) is the next logical step."
It's good to see that she's admitting defeat on "comprensive reform". However, her first statement is shown to be false (intentionally?) by the next paragraphs:
In the meantime, Chiesa has already started pulling up some of his peach trees and replanting rows of almond and walnut trees, which can be harvested by machines instead of people.
Maybe Feinstein should lead the way towards reviving research into mechanization rather than encouraging the importation of a third world serf class.
UPDATE: This apparent rewrite has more on those involved:
Among those supporting the bill are Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., a chief architect of last year's Senate immigration bill, and Sens. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, and Mel Martinez, R-Fla... Reps. Chris Cannon, R-Utah, and Howard Berman, D-Calif., are sponsoring the House version. It has the backing of House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson, D-Minn. and Rep. Adam Putnam of Florida, a member of the Republican leadership team.
Posted to Immigration at 02:37 PM | Comments (1)
Loony Lefties call for impeachment... with own bodies!
Those wacky, loony lefties are at it again, with 1000 fellow travelers spelling out "IMPEACH!" in the San Francisco ("Frisco") sand:
Thankfully - unlike past incidents in the same area - they appear clothed. There's a larger version of that picture here, and here's some video.
Posted to ThePeaceMovement at 12:20 PM | Comments (4)
LULAC beginning amnesty/immigration "reform" push
The League of United Latin American Citizens, the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project, the Hispanic Federation, and America Votes are starting an astroturf campaign to push the Dems into support immigration "reform", aka amnesty.
America Votes (take a deep breath) has direct or indirect links to - among many others - the SEIU, Carl Pope and the Sierra Club, ACORN, EMILY's List, League of Conservation Voters, MoveOn.org, NAACP, NARAL, and People for the American Way.
And:
Hispanic leaders are making two clear statements: Reform should include a path to legal residency for the 12 million illegal immigrants now working in the U.S., and a guest-worker program supported by President Bush, which would require foreign workers to return home after several years, is inadequate. They also oppose the building of a fence along the Mexican border intended to stem the flow of immigration.
There's certainly the strong possibility that they actually think those "guests" would somehow be sent home when their time is up. However, the Senate bill allowed "guests" to apply for legal permanent resident status at four years, and - as pointed out here many times - it's going to be difficult to deport "guests" who've had U.S. citizen children.
I suggest that everyone contacts their representatives in an attempt to counteract LULAC's push.
Posted to Immigration at 05:34 AM | Comments (1)
N.C. Aizenman/WaPo (hearts) El Salvador's consul general
N.C. Aizenman of the Washington Post delivers a wet sloppy one on Ana Margarita Chavez, El Salvador's Washington DC consul general. With her "long black curls" and "bubbly laugh", she makes sure that the one-quarter of that country's population that lives in the U.S. keeps sending their money back home to the tune of $3 billion per year. The only discordant note in the whole two-screen piece is some expats complaining about not having the right to vote in their elections. Never fear, the consul is here to win everyone over!
Don't expect the WaPo to ask tough questions about, for instance, whether El Salvador promotes illegal immigration in order to bring in money. Don't expect tough questions about whether that country has an extremely unhealthy dependence on our country.
Those are questions a real newspaper would ask, and the WaPo just isn't in that league. (You can send their ombudsman an email through this form.)
On our "GushOMeter", this only gets a 6, but we suggest that Aizenman keeps trying. He/she is joined at that level by Janie Har of the Oregonian, who also got a 6. They've both got their work cut out for them, since the current leader is OCRegister columnist Yvette Cabrera with an 8 for her gushing profile of a meddling Mexican consul.
Related:
El Salvador president Tony Saca to his citizens: get a green card
"Temporary" Protected Status extended; preview of "guest" worker schemes
Posted to Immigration_consul at 02:55 AM | Comments (0)
Questions the MSM won't ask about Arnold Schwarzenegger's "healthcare for illegal aliens" plan
Arnold Schwarzenegger - California's Bush-resembling, Mexico-pandering, Rove/Kennedy/Mexico-linked governor - has announced some of the details of his universal healthcare plan, and it includes healthcare for all residents regardless of immigration status.
Thus, these questions that need to be asked and answered, but which will not be. I strongly urge everyone in California to go to any event where this plan is promoted or Arnold or an Arnold-linked person speaks and try to publicly ask these or similar questions. Don't be shy and don't hold back: try to end political careers if you can do it.
1. Won't this increase illegal immigration?
2. Won't this increase corporatism, with businesses being able to pay an effectively lower-than-market wage with the other costs being paid for by the state?
3. Won't this be yet another benefit that the Mexican government will send their people north to get? Won't we increase that country's dependence on the U.S. and decrease the chance that they'll reform?
4. What role, if any, did Arnold's campaign advisor who's linked to the Mexican government play in all this? For gosh sakes, he's listed right on a Mexican government website (ime.gob.mx/ccime/comisiones/asuntos_politicos.htm). Did Arnold take any advice from him when crafting this scheme?
UPDATE: Here's the start of a script that someone could use:
"If the manager of a donut shop puts out a sign saying, 'Free Donuts' but doesn't first determine how many people will come for the free donuts, how many donuts are available, and what happens when the donuts run out, then I'm sure we can agree that the manager is incompetent and has no right to be running a donut shop. With that in mind, I'd like you to provide me detailed answers to these questions:1. Have you estimated how many new illegal aliens will come here to take advantage of this plan (yes or no)? If so, what is that number?
2. Have you estimated how many new illegal aliens it would take before the plan is negatively impacted (yes or no)? If so, what is that number?
3. What do you intend to do if large numbers of illegal aliens come here in part because of this plan and have a negative impact on the scheme?"
Posted to Immigration at 09:13 PM | Comments (0)
"Mexican Gunmen Involved in Arizona Border Incident Actually Uniformed Mexican Force"
I'm not entirely sure of this report, but:The incursion into U.S. territory last week by "Mexican gunmen" was not a chance confrontation between the Arizona National Guard and untrained illegal immigrants, but a deliberate "perimeter probe" by an infantry-trained, uniformed Mexican force, officials say.One of the statements that leaves me less sure of it is the claim that the Mexican force was inside the U.S. - or at least being observed by the National Guard - for three hours before the incident. I don't know exactly how far inside the U.S. it occured, but that seems to conflict with the claim that they could retreat quickly back over the border.
Euphoric Reality has learned in exclusive interviews with high-ranking sources within both the Arizona National Guard and the U.S. Border Patrol that the incident the mainstream media calls a “standoff” was in reality a military-style operation, carried out by a unit of Mexican troops dressed in military uniforms, flak jackets, and armed with AK-47s in an apparent operation to probe the border defenses and test the limits of the National Guard troops. Using easily recognizable infantry movement tactics (such as arm and hand signals and flanking maneuvers), the Mexican unit deliberately moved in a military formation across the border from Mexico, where they were picked up by National Guard surveillance...
Posted to Immigration at 07:54 PM | Comments (1)
Illegal aliens joining the U.S. military
Esther J. Cepeda of the Sun-Times offers "Illegal to serve?"...recruiters in Chicago and other cities across the United States are turning away potential applicants who are illegal immigrants -- despite a special wartime provision President Bush signed into law after Sept. 11 allowing them to serve...Not so fast. The fly in the illegal immigration supporters' ointment is presented in the last letter on this page:
...On July 3, 2002, Bush authorized -- in Section 329 of the Immigration and Nationality Act -- an expedited citizenship process for legal immigrants serving in the armed forces in time of war, regardless of their length of residency...
The fact is that the US military can accept undocumented aliens as recruits when the US is in a declared state of war. Despite what President Bush repeatedly says about the US being involved in a war against terrorism, no such war has been declared by Congress.The article also quotes Margaret Stock as once again supporting illegal aliens joining the military.
(Via langamp.com/borderblog/?p=4525, which deleted two comments I just left there. Hmmmmm.)
UPDATE: Oddly enough, the comment I left on the last post is... back. I don't know whether it's an issue with them or with me. If the latter, it would be very odd for Firefox to cache the penultimate and not the last version of a page that was viewed.
Posted to Immigration at 12:07 PM | Comments (2)
Durham illegal aliens victims of black on Hispanic robberies; Wells Fargo?
The article "Nearly half of robbery victims in Durham [North Carolina] are Hispanic" says that others say that Hispanics are a lucrative, vulnerable and growing target for armed robbers. Of course, they aren't really refering to "Hispanics" in general, but to illegal aliens, many of whom don't have bank accounts and carry large amounts of cash with them. And:
An assistant Durham County district attorney supports their assertion, saying armed robbery of Hispanics here is chiefly a black-on-Hispanic crime.
The first lesson here is that this wouldn't be an issue if there weren't so many illegal aliens there.
The second lesson here is that articles like this are sometimes precursors to self-interested parties stepping in offering to "help". Expect the Mexican government to announce a partnership with local or national banks (such as Wells Fargo or Bank of "America"), with perhaps that government giving their Matricula Consular card to illegal aliens outside the bank and the illegal aliens then using that card to open accounts.
Here's an example from Austin, with one of those involved in the scheme later getting an award from Mexico.
Posted to Immigration at 10:10 AM | Comments (2)
Shafta the AAFTA (WSJ promoting "free" trade)
The WSJ offers "Happily Ever AAFTA". I know nothing about it, but if the Wall Street Journal is pushing it - and if they expect Bush and the Dems to push it as well - I know it must be very, very bad. Most of its pay-only, here's the excerpt:This year President Bush and the Democratic-led Congress should launch a new Association of American Free Trade Agreements (AAFTA). The AAFTA could shape the future of the Western Hemisphere, while offering a new foreign and economic policy design that combines trade, open societies, development and democracy. In concert with successful immigration reform, the AAFTA would signal to the Americas that, despite the trials of war and Asia's rising economic influence, U.S. global strategy must have a hemispheric foundation.
Successful and sustainable international strategies must be constructed across administrations. Ronald Reagan called for free trade throughout the Americas, opened U.S. markets...
Posted to Politics at 02:38 AM | Comments (1)
Mayday/May 1, 2007: another illegal immigration boycott
Mark it on your calendars, because illegal aliens and their supporters will supposedly be holding yet another mass walkout/boycott/march on May 1 of this year. And, there's supposedly going to be a planning meeting on February 3 and 4 at Loyola Marymount Law School in Los Angeles. The specific target of the boycott is Walmart.
The only organizer mentioned is Javier Rodriguez from the "Coalicion 25 de Marzo"/March 25 Coalition. They were one of the sponsors of the September 2, 2006 Los Angeles march.
He may or may not be involved, but Fernando Guerra is a Loyola Marymount associate professor and the director of the Center for the Study of Los Angeles. He's also a lobbyist for both Microsoft and Home Depot, and he has at least an indirect link to former MEChA member and current Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.
Posted to Immigration at 09:27 PM | Comments (2)
Piggly Wiggly, Martin County Florida schools using fingerprint scanners
This article describes how Martin County, Florida will be using fingerprint scanners to let schoolkids pay for lunch, and also mentions in passing that such a scheme is currently used at Piggly Wiggly stores in Indiana. Another county (Indian River) is considering the scheme, but St. Lucie and Okeechobee haven't announced their plans.
To understand the danger of this scheme, let's think about the thoughts of a twelve-year-old quoted near the top of the article:
"It's cool... It should be better because you always have your fingers with you."
What will the world be like when she grows up? Ten years from now, how resistant will she be to even more invasive techniques, such as requiring implanted RFID chips? Won't she continue to think that's "cool" too?
There are basically three types of people who support these schemes: useful idiots, those who hope to profit from them, and those who seek greater control over people. If you have to give your fingerprint or iris scan to cash a check, you may have little choice but to give up that information. If that biometric data can be used to access your other personal data such as credit status or religious or political affiliation or similar, then those who run the machines control your life. And, they may be starting with children with the intent of raising a generation used to lack of privacy.
On the brighter side:
At the September meeting, [Indian River School Board] member Lenora Quimby said she was "very concerned about the whole 'Big Brother' issue."
On the possible conflict of interest side:
Despite concerns about privacy and what data is kept, biometric programs keep personal information confidential, said Joe Clark, an educational technology specialist with the Indian River County school district, who sits on an advisory board for Georgia-based biometrics company Horizon Software International.
And, on the "it would be funny if it weren't so sad" side:
For [Rae Hollenbeck, Martin County School District food services director], this is a program she's been dreaming of for many of her 27 years in school lunch, although she believes it can work well for other departments within the district.
Let's not let lunch ladies lead us into 1984.
Posted to Privacy at 06:26 PM | Comments (1)
Comments too hot for the Sacramento Bee (part 2)
I left the following comment on the SacBee story "Health care plan facing opposition" by Aurelio Rojas. I believe I've waited long enough and I can safely say that it was not approved. (In the original comment, both links were tinyurl links in non-HTML format).In November, the author of this article discussed one of Arnie's advisors, one Arnoldo Torres. Unfortunately, Rojas didn't disclose that Torres also serves on an advisory council to the Mexican president. He's even listed on a Mexican government website (ime.gob.mx/ccime/comisiones/asuntos_politicos.htm).As usual, I'll write to ombud *at* sacbee.com for an answer that will probably never come.
Perhaps the SacBee should look into whether Arnie's plan was influenced by Torres, or whether his plan was directly influenced by the Mexican government.
Previously: Comments too hot for the Sacramento Bee
UPDATE: I usually read these things, so either I missed it the first time or they recently added it, but before the comment form, in tiny, tiny print, it says:
...A comment cannot contain potentially libelous language, foul words, hate words, personal attacks or web links, among other things...Pretty much every statement of fact is "potentially libelous", but, since nothing in the comment is in fact "potentially libelous", I think we can rule that out. Could the stuck-in-the-19th-century dimbulbs at the SacBee be objecting to the tinyurl "web links"?
UPDATE 2 (WTF EDITION): Someone named "bricko" has posted and had approved a variant of my comment. I don't know whether that's a reader of this post or someone from the SacBee.
Posted to Immigration at 02:07 PM | Comments (0)
Bush rejoiced Democrat takeover of House; can get immigration "reform"
The article "Congressional leaders predict immigration law" quotes House Democratic Leader Steny Hoyer describing last week's meeting between Bush and Dem leaders on today's "Fox News Sunday":
"He (Bush) smiled and he said, 'You know, I think I'm going to have a lot easier time dealing with you on immigration than I had dealing with the House Republican leadership on immigration.'"
GOP members (or their hacks) might say that as horrific as Bush is, the Dems are worse. As long as they continue to support the GOP in its present form, they will continue to be faced with that same choice and people like Bush will get what they want.
The solution to that dilemma is clear: urge your GOP representatives to turn their backs on Bush and his associates, turn your backs on Bush's enablers, and if the GOP calls asking for money, tell them you'll do it after they choose pro-American leaders unaffiliated with Bush.
Posted to Immigration at 02:07 PM | Comments (1)
Boycott Toys"R"Us/Babies"R"Us
Toys"R"Us has recently shown their lack of respect for both U.S. law and their own rules, and I suggest boycotting them. Their Babies"R"Us subsidiary recently held a "First Baby of 2007" contest, with the winner receiving $25,000. There were three possibilities, and the winner of the tie-breaker drawing turned out to be the child of illegal aliens. This was a violation of the contest rules, which stated that it was only open to "women... who are legal residents [of the U.S.]"
After a manufactured controversy by ethnic advocacy groups, ToysRUs has capitulated and given the prize to all three finalists.
On the one hand this is the smartest move based on their situation. On the other hand, they've sent the message that neither their rules nor our laws really matter. And, they've in effect supported anchor babies as well as perhaps foreign citizens receiving subsidized U.S. healthcare.
Posted to Immigration at 11:43 AM | Comments (4)
Catholic Charities: bagmen for corrupt businesses?
The Catholic Charities office in Avon, Colorado (located in Eagle County, home of Vail) won't be getting their usual allotment of $25,000 from that county because they don't ask about their clients' immigration status as the newly-passed Proposition 300 appears to require. That determination was done by Colorado Attorney General John Suthers; the director of Catholic Charities in Eagle and Garfield counties, Tom Ziemann, disagrees.The latter provides this quote:
"I'm sure there are a lot of people applauding (the state law)," Ziemann said. "But some people out there know this community has a vested interest in what we do."When I read that, I said to myself that they should try to get money from those corrupt businesses that profit from illegal labor, since - in addition to illegal aliens and indirectly and in a minor way the Mexican government - that's who they're benefiting. The more services illegal aliens are able to get from the state or private agences, the fewer services employers have to provide and the more money they can make off of illegal activity.
I'm sure Ziemann wouldn't quite put it the same way. Rather, he put it this way:
To that end, Ziemann said he's looking for help from local businesses.
"I hope some of them might be willing to partner with us," he said.
"There aren't many foundations that like to fund these programs because it's so political," Ziemann added. "Many businesses benefit from immigrant workers. We're hoping they'll recognize this is the right thing to do."
Posted to Immigration at 06:07 AM | Comments (2)
Illegal immigration, ethnic power, idiocy, Nina Bernstein, Toys R Us
I can't believe I'm posting on such a trivial matter, but: Nina Bernstein of the New York Times is in a slightly more reportarial mood with "First-Baby Sweepstakes Fuels Immigration Debate". It seems that Toys R Us - specifically their Babies R Us subsidiary - sponsors a "1st Baby of the Year Sweepstakes", and this year there were three possibilities:
1. a New York Chinese couple who appear to be illegal aliens
2. a "black American" who gave birth in Gainesville, Georgia
3. a couple from El Salvador
All three could have won, so they held a tiebreaker, initially choosing #1. However, then they found out that the parents couldn't prove legal residence, and they switched to option #2.
This has caused ethnic power groups to erupt in a furor of race-based indignation. Those mentioned are: John Wang (president of the Asian American Business Development Center), officers of the Organization of Chinese Americans (including past national vice president Leo Y. Lee), and Albert H. Wang (corporate lawyer).
The last is a bit surprising, since presumably he can interpret the rules of the contest (firstbabyoftheyear.com/rules.html):
Sweepstakes only open to women who are pregnant and could plausibly give birth in a U.S. or D.C. hospital, at or after 12:00 am (local time in registrant time zone), on January 1, 2007 and who are legal residents of the 50 United States or Washington D.C.
The legal residence requirement absolutely applies to the woman giving birth, not to the baby.
Posted to Immigration at 03:23 AM | Comments (3)
Arizona State University pushing NAU
Despite the mountain of evidence to the contrary, those who still don't believe that the North American Union - joining the U.S., Canada, and Mexico into one country - is being pushed by influential sources are invited to poke around this site: asu.edu/clas/nacts/bnaThe "Building North America" project began with a website, originally launched in 2000 and hosted by the Americas Society-Council of the Americas, which provided links (with editorial comment) to hundreds of sites of interest to the growing community of "North Americanists." This site was inspired by the notion that economic integration in the NAFTA Triad (Canada-U.S.-Mexico) was advancing despite the lack of press and public attention it received... ...the PanAmerican Partnership for Business Education launched a consortium of four North American business schools to promote a new generation of entrepreneurs with a deep knowledge of these integration trends in the region... ...[the site is] hosted by the North American Center for Transborder Studies (NACTS) at Arizona State University and with the cooperation of our Partners, the Americas Society-Council of the Americas, and the Kansas City, Missouri International Affairs and Trade Office. We are still faced with a regional integration process that advances and deepens without the kind of attention – either within the academy or in government circles, let alone the general public – enjoyed in Europe...Wait, there's much more:
The program openly advocates for the integration of economic issues across the continent, and in many places goes further – such as the call for a common North American currency.These people could buy SuperBowl commercials promoting the North American Union and apologists like Michael Medved would still keep trying to deny it.
One teaching module made available online for professors to integrate into their teachings was written by George Haynal, senior fellow at the Norman Patterson School of International Affairs at Carleton University, and implied a joint military is required. Since the security of the continent "is a joint need; it should be supplied as a common enterprise."
"Given the nature of the threats against our security in the current environment, the first task is to reinvent 'borders.' We must exercise the responsibility for protecting our society against external threats where we can do so most effectively, not where infrastructures happens to be in place," he added. "Multilateral cooperation is going to be essential among governments."
"It is clear, to me at least, that we must … move beyond NAFTA and do so with a purposeful determination," he wrote...
Posted to NAU at 12:39 PM | Comments (1)
"Families First in Immigration"
The new group "Families First in Immigration" appears to be a pro-amnesty coalition of conservative evangelicals. They've already sent a letter to Bush and Pelosi supporting their views, but that apparently won't be released until Monday. Apparently they're seeking a "third way" on immigration "reform", but one wonders exactly how different their scheme could be from the ones currently proposed. Specifically, based on their name it appears they'll stress family reunification, something which has helped lead to current massive legal and illegal immigration, and a surprise feature of the Senate's bill.
Those involved include:
* Manny Miranda ("memogate"; former counsel to Bill Frist)
* Paul Weyrich (Coalitions for America)
* Dr. Donald Wildmon (American Family Association)
* Gary Bauer (American Values)
* David Keene (American Conservative Union)
Expect them to be the only-slightly-less-loony version of Cardinal Roger Mahony and other Catholic Bishops.
UPDATE: The WashTimes has more. They want amnesty for all illegal aliens who have a U.S. citizen relative, which would amnestize all parents of anchor babies and, practically speaking, every other illegal alien in the U.S. who would fake a relation if they didn't have such relatives. On the other hand, they want to end birthright citizenship.
Others in the coalition include: Deal Hudson of the Morley Institute for Church & Culture... direct-mail guru Richard A. Viguerie..., the Rev. Louis Sheldon of Traditional Values Coalition and Rabbi Aryeh Spero of Caucus for America. They hope to get Sen. Sam Brownback involved.
Posted to Immigration at 12:15 PM | Comments (4)
More on Mexico's rescue beacons for illegal aliens
The AP's Istra Pacheco has more on Mexico's plan to give rescue beacons to "migrants". The article provides just a little more than that previously covered, but it has an extra helping of AP bias and reflects their inability to dig for the truth.
We're informed that two "state government institutions" are involved, presumably a reference to "Puebla state's Commission for the Attention of Migrants" (quote from their rep Jesus Torreblanca) and Monterrey Tech University. Rather than using commercial models, the latter is developing their own version, and they'll be passed out free to "migrants". And, despite their denials, it appears the Border Patrol might have at least been contacted about this, because we're informed that the "U.S. government has yet to sign off on the project".
As for the article, while it uses the at least partially acceptable phrase "illegal migration", it also refers to "migrants", a favorite euphemism of the Mexican government (and Bush). It also refers to "anti-immigration groups". And, we're informed that:
Hundreds of Mexicans are killed each year trying to sneak illegally into the U.S. Many are lost or succumb to heat exhaustion in the desert, while others are killed trying to swim across the Rio Grande or hide in vehicles.
The use of the verb "kill" rather than "die" is probably an attempt to prejudice the reader in favor of "migration".
Then, we get this unopposed quote from Torreblanca:
"Our main purpose is to show people the enormous dangers they risk in crossing rivers, canals and deserts ... but the phenomenon of immigration is something that can't be stopped overnight... The U.S. government has every right to protect its borders anyway it sees necessary... The only thing that we ask is that they respect human rights."
There are other ways to show the dangers, and rescue beacons aren't them. And, of course, refering to Mexico sending its people north as a "phenomenon" is a standard trick they use. And, Mexico's definition of "human rights" is a bit sloppy and apparently includes the "right" to cross borders illegally.
Posted to Immigration at 10:12 AM | Comments (1)
Washington Post's pro-illegal immigration sob stories
A pro-illegal immigration series the Washington Post did in December of last year is described here. Five WaPo writers wrote three articles telling the story of an illegal alien who fled from cops and fell from a bridge. As you might expect, the WaPo did a complicated dance around his immigration status.
The writers involved were: Mary Beth Sheridan, Ian Shapira, Candace Rondeaux, Allison Klein, and Theresa Vargas.
The link also includes this quote from Washington Post Ombudsman Deborah Howell:
"Journalists tend to be softhearted toward the afflicted or the underdog, which tends to make them less critical of illegal immigrants."
Actually, I believe there's something else at work, at least at a level higher than that of the lowly reporters. In the Washington Post's case, they've advocated for illegal immigration in order to keep the "boom burbs" outside DC humming away. Perhaps some other paper should "follow the money" and see whether the WaPo has some sort of a profit motive somewhere.
Posted to Immigration_piipps at 05:06 AM | Comments (0)
Sylvester Stallone defends boxing, illegal immigration
From our "who gives a flying fsck what some washed-up Hollywood freak thinks but let's keep this around for anyone who's considering giving him any money" category comes this:Sylvester Stallone defended boxing, praised the hard work of Mexicans and dished out some jabs against U.S. plans to build a wall on its southern border, as the 60-year-old actor visited Mexico City to promote his sixth prizefighting film, "Rocky Balboa."It's certainly possible to oppose both the fence and illegal immigration, but if Stallone had meant to do that he would have used the magic word "legal" when refering to Mexicans working in the U.S.
..."I support Mexicans who work in my country," he said, adding that the United States depends on the hard work of Latinos to keep running...
...[The border fence] was "crazy" and "ridiculous," Stallone said, arguing nations should be able to interact without being divided by walls...
For those who don't follow this topic that closely, here's what Stallone in effect supports:
* Increased corruption in the U.S. as companies that profit from illegal immigration donate to politicians who look the other way.
* Increased numbers of low-wage workers coming into a high cost of living country (resulting in people living in garages or even tents in backyards).
* Lowered wages for our own low-wage workers, many of whom have simply stopped looking for work.
* Increased chance of worker abuse and workplace injuries and deaths (much higher for illegal aliens).
* Entrenching the corrupt Mexican government rather than forcing them to reform.
* Giving even more political power inside the U.S. to the government of Mexico. That government has direct or indirect links to several major non-profit organizations, and their consuls have a habit of meddling in our internal politics.
* Assisting attempts to weaken U.S. citizenship and sovereignty.
* Foreign citizens marching in our streets demanding rights to which they aren't entitled.
* Among other previously rare diseases, drug-resistant tuberculosis.
* Reducing innovation. Rather than inventing machines to pick crops, growers can simply import low-wage labor.
Posted to Immigration at 02:54 AM | Comments (5)
National Guard "stormed" in confrontation at border
Last night, a group of armed border crossers stormed a National Guard encampment between Nogales and Lukeville in Arizona. Apparently no one was hurt and the four Guardsmen retreated and called for backup rather than firing on those who'd stormed them. They don't know what the goal was, and the attackers fled back to Mexico. Video at the link.
In the past, large numbers of people have tried to cross the border at one time as a diversionary tactic, allowing smugglers to bring drugs across elsewhere. This could have been a similar situation, or it could have been an attempt to see how the NG would react, or it could have been a threat of some kind.
In any case, the response of almost all Dem leaders and most Republican leaders will be weak to non-existent.
Posted to Immigration_terror at 10:41 PM | Comments (2)
"New port security may stall trucking"
Stephen Franklin and Darnell Little of the Chicago Tribune offer this:Fanning out from the mammoth ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles, 16,000 drivers, nearly all of them Latino, crisscross Southern California's congested highways, carrying freight that will make its way to every part of the country.Oh, the horror that would ensue if Americans had to pay a few cents extra for lettuce, sneakers, or Tickle Me Elmo dolls.
But a number of the drivers are undocumented immigrants, and they could soon find themselves out of work and freight ould begin backing up across the country...
...Like any business pondering how it will get by without undocumented workers, the trucking industry is in deep debate about what could lie ahead.
"There could be a huge impact," said Curtis Whalen, an official for the American Transportation Association. "If you start getting whacked in the West, you will have an impact in Chicago because of less traffic flow."
However, let's compare that dire warning from the first two paragraphs with the details they reveal in the rest of the article:
* A large percentage of port drivers are illegal aliens. In other words, foreign citizens about whom we know nothing are able to handle freight which travels our busiest highways, possibly leading to terrorist attacks.
* Due to deregulation, trucking companies have been able to engage in union busting through hiring illegal aliens, including some who are bottom feeders who'll work for a very low price.
* Drivers make very little money, and contribute to pollution because they can't even afford to upgrade their trucks.
* Some trucking companies that pay good wages no longer do port work because they can't compete with those who hire illegal aliens and other very low-wage workers.
* Port truckers are driving chassis in bad repair, possibly leading to accidents.
Let's keep an eye out for who ends up supporting the American Transportation Association and others who will no doubt try to advocate for the current situation. I suspect that will be the usual suspects: the media, most Democratic leaders, and all Bush-linked GOP leaders.
Posted to Immigration at 10:06 PM | Comments (0)
U.S.-Mexico Social Security Totalization Agreement gets MSM attention
Surprisingly, at least three sources are now discussing the details of the U.S.-Mexico Social Security Totalization Agreement. After a 3.5 year FOIA battle, the TREA Senior Citizens League recently obtained a copy of that agreement, and their suit continues as they seek more documentation.Michelle Mittelstadt has a rundown with the ludicrous subheadline "Federal officials insist it would cost only $105 million for the first 5 years". All the Bush administration's other plans and estimates have worked out OK, right?
Hernan Rozemberg says:
...The accord lacks specific language clearly delineating that [illegal aliens] would be barred from applying for benefits, and it should concern anyone on Social Security that billions of dollars could be going to millions of people who worked illegally, said Shannon Benton, executive director of the senior league.And, Stephen Dinan says:
Mark Lassiter, the SSA spokesman who was granted authority to speak for the White House on the matter, said the group's allegations are false.
He said the agreements tackle taxation, not immigration issues, and that current laws forbid people from collecting benefits if they don't have a valid Social Security number.
But those laws leave loopholes that could cost at least $10 billion in benefits, the senior league countered.
...the document is based on existing benefits laws that provide loopholes for unauthorized migrants to collect benefits, and that sends the wrong message, according to the senior league.
But Mark Lassiter, a spokesman for the Social Security Administration, said the agreement doesn't change U.S. law. The law states that those who do not have authorization to work will not get benefits under a totalization agreement.UPDATE: Investors Business Daily has an editorial opposing the scheme, as does the WashTimes.
"To get Social Security benefits, you do have to be legally in the United States. This agreement does not address in any way immigration, immigration laws or override current law," he said, adding that a 2004 law, the Social Security Protection Act, prevents illegal aliens from getting benefits.
But the seniors group said the 2004 law also states that if those aliens later get legal status -- through an amnesty or some sort of legalization plan such as the one President Bush and the Senate tried to enact last year -- they would be able to collect the benefits based on their time as illegal workers.
Posted to Immigration at 12:36 PM | Comments (1)
Who benefits from Arnold Schwarzenegger's "health care for illegal aliens" plan?
Arnold Schwarzenegger - California's Bush-resembling, Mexico-pandering, Rove/Kennedy/Mexico-linked governor - wants to give health care to all children in California, including illegal aliens.
It sounds humanitarian, but it isn't. It will make our situation far worse by encouraging even more illegal immigration. It will transfer even more money from U.S. citizens to Mexican citizens and give a huge benefit to the Mexican government, which won't have to take care of their own citizens as a grown-up country should. And, it will also be a huge benefit to those who employ the parents of those illegal aliens. Those corrupt companies will be able to pay even less, safe in the knowledge that benefits will be provided by the state ("corporatism").
The better solution would be for Arnie to restrict his program to U.S. citizens and legal residents and at the same time working to reduce - rather than increase - illegal immigration. Since he's getting advice from someone linked to the Mexican government as well as from at least two people linked to the Bush administration, that might be a bit difficult. But, perhaps Arnie should read his contract again and try to understand who he's supposed to represent.
Expect anyone who opposes this scheme to be portrayed as a meanie, but hopefully they can rise above the smears and articulate the negatives of Arnie's scheme.
The article provides the almost unbelievable news that an earlier plan from Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata (D-Oakland) excluded illegal aliens. However, as one might expect, a plan from Fabian Nunez included them.
UPDATE: FAIR says:
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's proposal to provide health coverage to every child in California, including illegal aliens, could leave the state liable for untold billions in unforeseen costs in the future, warns the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR). The conservatively estimated cost of $400 million a year could easily balloon to many times that figure. Costs will grow as the numbers of illegal aliens in California increase and may rise even more dramatically as legal residents of other states take advantage of a federal law that requires that state benefits made available to illegal aliens must be made available to all legal U.S. residents...
Posted to California at 11:47 AM | Comments (1)
Immigration "reform" would completely overwhelm USCIS
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) would administer any "guest" worker or immigration "reform" (amnesty) scheme. However:But in recent months, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) officials have determined that the troubled, $2-billion-a-year agency is unable to effectively manage its existing work, much less a flood of new applications.Related:
A report released Dec. 20 by Homeland Security Inspector General Richard L. Skinner cited a long list of setbacks and concurred with internal USCIS reviews that the bureau "lacks the processing capacity, systems integration and project management resources needed to manage a potential increase in workloads."
...Many legal immigrants already face years-long waits when they apply for green cards, often a first step toward obtaining citizenship.Another 100,000 names submitted to the FBI for background checks have been on hold for a year or more. Congressional auditors recently reported that 14 immigration offices had lost track of 111,000 files as of July...
"[USCIS] Whistle-blower let go"
"Terrorist screening missed 75% of time"
The Senate amnesty: an "Administrative and National Security Nightmare"
Whistleblower: USCIS broken, infiltrated by operatives of hostile foreign countries
USCIS director: Senate amnesty timeline is not "practical"
GAO report shows how "guest" worker schemes would fail miserably
Posted to Immigration at 10:51 AM | Comments (2)
Youtube goes nuts with the links and all
WTF? In the following screenshot, the salmon-colored squares are not part of the page, but are added by a Firefox one-liner that I use to help me spot links that have the evil, anti-web nofollow attribute. This is a very recent development, and I wonder what role the "do no evil" folks who now own Youtube are playing in this scheme. I don't know exactly what the game is, but perhaps they're trying to concentrate all the "juice" that they receive from links to a certain video into their specific sections of their site rather than it being spread to a large number of unrelated areas. In a typical page, the only links without the tag are: their navigation bar, the user's profile, the tags, the "See all videos" link, the Chevy promotion internal link, and their sitewide page footer.
I note also that the URLs that they allow those with "Director" status to put next to their videos not only have a nofollow tag, they go through a redirect script. I guess that might be better than a redirect script alone, but I believe that before those used to be regular links.
It's little things like this that may lead to people seeking an alternative. Note that Youtube used to have their own version of the "top syndicators" section, but as previously discussed they played around with that too.
If they're going to do things like this, is there any reason to not use the same tag when linking to Youtube?
(Note: the "F" where the video should be is because I use the flashblock plugin which allows me to control whether I play a Flash movie or not.)
Posted to Miscellania at 05:46 AM | Comments (1)
Fred Barnes, Morton Kondracke support illegal immigration, again
For future reference, Fred Barnes and Morton Kondracke - stars of the Fox News Channel's "Beltway Boys" - said this on their year-end wrap-up:Kondracke: "Our 'Dumbest Move' award of the year is Republicans trashing immigrants. And this - this has disastrous consequences for the, in the election. The Hispanic vote, which is the fastest-growing element of the population, went 55 to 42 percent Democratic in 2004. This time, it went 76 to 26. And it's all because of this stupid wall that the House Republicans wanted to build, and rejected their own president's plan for a comprehensive immigrant reform in preference to cozying up to radio talk show hosts."Additional comments - this time anti-Lou Dobbs - at the link.
Barnes: "I don't think it's the wall, per se. I think it's their whole attitude toward immigrants in general, but particularly Hispanic immigrants. It seemed mean-spirited, and, you know, American voters are generally not mean-spirited. You, you're going to have some kind of a wall at some point, but you have to a lot of other things, too."
Kondracke: "Yes. The wall only is the problem."
Related:
Has the Weekly Standard backtracked on Graf/Hayworth myth?
Fred "Shifty Eyes" Barnes on comprehensive immigration reform
Fred Barnes is mostly clueless on immigration
Morton Kondracke on illegal immigration
How out of touch is Morton Kondracke?
More Morton Kondracke immigration idiocy
Posted to Immigration at 10:37 PM | Comments (1)
SEIU dividing over "guest" workers vs. amnesty for all
The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) was deeply involved in last year's illegal immigration marches. However, their president Andy Stern only goes as far as supporting the Senate amnesty schemes which include "guest" worker plots. Other SEIU members go even further, opposing "guest" workers and demanding legalization for all illegal aliens [1].
The open borders side of things is represented by the California group of SEIU members calling themselves "No Worker is Illegal". One of their leaders is Renee Saucedo of the City of San Francisco's Day Labor Program. One of those on Stern's side is SEIU Vice President Eliseo Medina.
As for those of us on the American side of things, I'd suggest that the SEIU being seen as extremist as possible is the best outcome, with the SEIU being split into two over "guest" workers vs. complete amnesty being the second best outcome.
[1] Needless to say, that would be the equivalent of an open borders plan. Millions more illegal aliens would come here in expectation of receiving the next amnesty. And, if they support across the board legalization now, there's very little chance they would oppose it for those new illegal aliens. Repeat ad infinitum.
Posted to Immigration at 07:43 PM | Comments (4)
El Cucuy es... wanted for questioning
Normally this site wouldn't sink this low, but: "El Cucuy" is a Spanish-language disc jockey in Los Angeles, and bus bench ads feature a picture of him together with the tag line "El Cucuy es Raza". His real name is Renan Almendarez Coello, and over the summer he held a pro-illegal immigration bus tour with the help of Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante, state senator Gil Cedillo, and assemblyman Joe Coto.
Now comes word that the LAPD wants to question him in a domestic violence case. According to Eric Leonard of KFI, one of his sources tells him that he's hiding out in a community to the south east of downtown L.A. Hmmm...
Posted to Miscellania at 03:18 PM | Comments (0)
Foreign Policy on the Nanny-Driven Economic Miracle
Harvard economists Michael Kremer and Stanley Watt have released a study claiming that importing a certain amount of cheap labor - such as nannies - does wonderful good for an economy. James G. Forsyth of Foreign Policy explains:
Kremer explains his findings by pointing out that domestic workers can increase a country's supply of highly skilled workers by allowing well-educated parents (generally mothers) to remain in the workforce. Household help is actually far more liberating to parents than day care, he argues, because nannies let them work the long hours required by many highpowered, highpaying jobs.
Of course, one wonders whether Kremer and Watt actually looked at this issue in its totality or whether they only looked at the fiscal aspects of the matter. Given what passes for economics, I suspect the latter. Specifically, I doubt whether they reported on the social impacts of the importation of cheap labor from foreign countries. For instance, are cheap Korean or Filipino nannies imported into Japan healthy for either party? Is importing Mexican nannies to their "lost territories" a dangerous situation? Does creating a "nanny employing class" lead to decadence and an elite class that becomes even further estranged from their (supposed) fellow citizens? Real economists would cover those issues, but I would be surprised if Kremer and Watt did.
Posted to Immigration at 08:20 AM | Comments (1)
Tom Vilsack misled about Swift raid, DHS cooperation?
Oh, please say it's just a miscommunication and Iowa governor and illegal immigration supporter Tom Vilsack didn't lie about the Swift immigration raids, which were held on December 12. A week later, Vilsack and Iowa National Guard Maj. Gen. Ron Dardis sent a strongly-worded letter to DHS head Michael Chertoff complaining about a "media blackout" and that they hadn't been informed of the "size and scope" of the raids. However, on December 4 the Iowa NG signed a rental contract with ICE indicating that they knew full well how big the raids were going to be.First, here's a snippet of the letter (PDF):
...ICE's failure to advise the Iowa National Guard of the size and scope of the raid could have led to unacceptable risks to Guard personnel and property. Although the Guard was simply a space provider, your department's operations and lack of coordination put the Iowa National Guard into the national spotlight without the courtesy of providing them sufficient information or authority to plan and respond...And, here's the details on the contract:
...ICE failed to provide any information to Iowa National Guard public affairs staff prior to and during the operation...
...In order to prevent similar or greater problems in the future, please note that the Iowa National Guard... will now require proper notification to the Governor and appropriate law enforcement personnel, as well as a thorough and synchronized media plan, before we again agree to provide any space for future actions or operations by ICE.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement planned to house up to 1,100 undocumented workers for as many 10 nights at Camp Dodge, according to a government contract.The only out for Vilsack in this case is to either accuse Dardis of lying to him or to pretend that reserving 1100 sets of linens is not a good indication of the size of the raid.
The contract showed that would have cost ICE $32,000, but the site was used for fewer days last month and housed about 500 people who were arrested during the Dec. 12 raid at Swift & Co. meatpacking plants in Marshalltown and five other states.
The contract between ICE and the Iowa National Guard was dated Dec. 4 and prohibited guard officials from discussing it without permission from ICE.
The contract shows ICE reserved access to communications support, cleaning services, beds and 1,100 sets of linens...
Posted to Immigration at 05:21 AM | Comments (1)
"CAIR Welcomes TSA Hajj Sensitivity Training"
Via this long article we learn that the U.S. Transportation Security Administration has issued a press release (shown above) with the wonderful news that the TSA has received "sensitivity training" from the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) in regards to travelers on the Hajj. The release at the TSA's site is basically the same as that from CAIR. That organization is so bad that even Salon has done an expose on them and even - gasp - Barbara Boxer has distanced herself from them.
The press release quotes Ibrahim Hooper of CAIR:
"We welcome the fact that airport security officers nationwide will now be better informed about Islamic traditions relating to Hajj... This proactive effort on the part of the Transportation Security Administration demonstrates that there is no contradiction between the need to maintain airline safety and security and the duty to protect the religious and civil rights of airline passengers."
Here's an earlier quote from Hooper:
"I wouldn't want to create the impression that I wouldn't like the government of the United States to be Islamic sometime in the future... But I'm not going to do anything violent to promote that. I'm going to do it through education."
Posted to Terrorism at 08:25 PM | Comments (1)
USA Today, Virgil Goode, and Muslim hearts and minds
The level of discourse swirling around Virgil Goode's comments regarding Muslim immigration is abysmally low. All of the sources that I've seen a) deliberatly misunderstand what Goode was saying by pointing out that Keith Ellison is not an immigrant, and b) deliberately avoid the main issue.The main issue is immigration by Muslims, and what limits and requirements we should place on that. Should we allow unfettered immigration from Muslim countries? Would those who criticize Goode care to affirmatively argue for importing one million devout Muslims from Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and Pakistan? If they aren't willing to do that, then they're just doing a Politically Correct dance around the main issue.
A case in point is the USA Today editorial "Ugly voices tarnish debut of Congress' first Muslim: Swearing-in of Minnesota's Ellison is chance to win hearts and minds." Let's all join hands and sing it... together:
Keith Ellison's election to the House, as the chamber's first Muslim, provides the United States with a grand opportunity to showcase its credentials as a nation of opportunity, equality and diversity.Wonderful, wonderful words. Somewhat like a love sonnet I might write to a supermodel. She, unfortunately, might respond with a TRO.
What a great story to tell the Muslim world...
Ellison upped the chance to polish America's image for religious tolerance, as well, when he said he'd use Islam's holy book, the Quran, at his ceremonial swearing-in this week.
...Tolerance and religious freedom are at America's heart. So is the nation's embrace of people from all countries and cultures.
In other words, if we import people who do not buy into said "tolerance and religious freedom", then we're negligently endangering said "tolerance and religious freedom". It's a two way street, but USAToday is only looking one way.
Posted to Terrorism at 12:36 PM | Comments (2)
Teddy Kennedy and thousands of Iraq refugees
Supposedly tens of thousands of Iraqis leave their country each month to avoid the general violence. Some of them have worked with the U.S. and fear for their lives. Our refugee planning - like almost all other Bush administration "planning" - failed to take this into account, and until recently only considered resettling 500 Iraqis this year. The State Department says they could handle many more, but blames the issue on the U.N.
Teddy Kennedy to the rescue! The incoming chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security and Citizenship is going to hold hearings to try to figure out what to do.
On the one hand, we do have an obligation to those Iraqis who have worked for us and who do not pose a threat should they be brought here. However - given once again the Bush administration's general incompetence - some of those that we would admit might end up posing a threat to the rest of us. The best solution would probably be to encourage some other country to take as many as possible.
Posted to Immigration at 12:00 PM | Comments (2)
Los Angeles Times on immigration: 2006 in review
Patterico offers his Los Angeles Times Year in Review post. Here's some more bias from that paper specifically relating to immigration matters:
Dec: Danced around the status of a cop shooter. Backs Bill Richardson's opposition to border fence. Elizabeth Mehren said that Mitt Romney directly employed illegal aliens, when they were actually employees of a lawn care company with which he'd contracted.
Nov: Lionized and continued to cover up for Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. Editorial engaged in the Graf/Hayworth canard.
Oct: Peter Wallsten: the GOP can't win without opening the borders. David Streitfeld/Los Angeles Times promotes illegal immigration. "Food Stamps in Four Hours" (Mexican consul+USDA)
Sep: Los Angeles Times reporter Sonia Nazario promotes illegal immigration on CBS News. Reporter Lee Romney promotes "guest" worker schemes. At an immigration march, they gave in to union thuggery. Joe Mathews didn't ask about the immigration status of hotel workers engaging in political theater. Patt Morrison opposes the border fence.
Aug: Jordan Rau falsely claims that "liberals and Latinos" "strongly" support driver's licenses for illegal aliens. The numbers aren't there.
Jul: To their credit, they issue a partial indictment of what they support. A few days before: Molly Hennessy-Fiske/LAT promotes corruption in Arkansas. A few days before came the slightly more balanced "Vision That Inspires Some and Scares Others: Aztlan".
Jun: Alicia Robinson of Orange County's Los Angeles Times-affiliated Daily Pilot promotes Mexico's "IDs for Illegals" identity card.
May: Los Angeles Times supports Bush immigration speech (editorial).
Apr: Columnist Steve Lopez thought massive immigration would help a low-wage legal immigrant. They join those who refer to foreign citizens marching in our streets as an "Immigrant" Rights Movement. They conduct a puffball interview on immigration with Antonio Villaraigosa. Partially on the other hand, they disclosed Bush's Aztlan video. Tim Rutten slams Lou Dobbs. Put a smiley face on students marching for illegal immigration. Anna Gorman misleads on workplace enforcement.
Mar: Printed a pro-illegal immigration ad from the Mexican government. Reports on massive trash dumps left behind by illegal aliens... and blames it on the Border Patrol. OTOH, they give a couple paragraphs to the downsides of Maywood's support for illegal immigration.
Feb: Christopher Goffard discusses the illegal aliens who "oil the gears of [Orange County's] humming economy"
Jan: Peter Wallsten plays the 187 canard among many other misleading statements.
I didn't cover the L.A. Times' coverage of the illegal immigration protests, but I'd imagine it was in line with the above.
Posted to Immigration at 09:59 AM | Comments (1)
"BNP ballerina" blitzed by Gramscian goons
Ballerina Simone Clarke of the English National Ballet is coming under a large amount of fire from a small number of sources due to her membership in the British National Party (BNP). The Guardian, other papers, and the Gramscian establishment are trying to get her fired over her private political views.
That party is apparently "far right", in the law & order, isolationism, halting all immigration and so forth sense. The elites of England might be attempting to misrepresent them, but there's a good chance they're a bit closer to thugs in suits. Sorting that out is left to the English, but they are apparently a legal political party.
A seven-month long undercover "investigation" by the Guardian's Ian Cobain resulted in an article with nothing overly shocking ("Exclusive: inside the secret and sinister world of the BNP", link; there may be more in their print edition). That 12/21 article is where it was revealed that Clarke was a member.
She refused comment except to give one interview, which I believe was in 12/30's "The BNP Ballerina" by Elizabeth Sanderson (link). In that she said she's been a member for 18 months.
To recap: she's been a member for a long time, her membership was only revealed after an undercover investigation, and she gave one interview attempting to explain why she was a member.
With that in mind, now comes al-Guardian again with 1/1's "BNP ballerina defies rising clamour to sack her" (link):
The interview has caused fresh difficulties for the ENB, which was able to deflect criticism about Clarke's BNP membership by insisting that her stance was an entirely private one. The company, which is publicly funded and is therefore obliged by the Race Relations Act of 2000 to promote good race relations, will be asked to explain how one of its highest profile employees was able to use her position as a platform for the far right party.
Obviously, the Guardian is engaging in their own form of thuggery, since she wasn't using "her position as a platform" and if the Guardian had not revealed her membership no one might have known about it. And, they're attempting to use state power to enforce their own far-left Gramscian viewpoint and punish someone for their heretofore private membership in a legal political party. Their attempts are as transparently fake as this photo of her in front of Buckingham Palace.
Only four voices in the "rising clamour" are quoted, one anonymously. Lee Jasper, "equalities director for the mayor of London and chairman of the National Assembly Against Racism" thinks "she should be sacked". Inayat Bunglawala from the Muslim Council of Britain thinks she's abusing her position. Jon Cruddas, "Labour MP for Dagenham in east London" thinks she's ignoring the BNP's "underbelly".
And:
A spokeswoman for the Commission for Racial Equality, which polices race relations legislation, said it was monitoring events. "We will be interested to see what action the ENB takes given that it has a member expressing such views in public."
Apparently there as here the major political parties support massive immigration - legal and illegal - even if some may talk a good game. And, apparently the BNP is the only party willing to go against the Gramscian flow. And, presumably many or most Britons oppose those policies imposed on them by the elites. It shouldn't be surprising that some would seek an alternative and that the elites would attempt to punish those who get involved with that alternative.
Posted to MultiCultiCult at 05:41 AM | Comments (4)
U.S.-Mexico Social Security Totalization Agreement released (FOIA battle)
"Totalization Agreements" allow foreign workers in the U.S. to qualify for Social Security benefits, and we have them with developed countries such as the UK. Around 2000 people are covered under the agreement with that country. However, in June 2004, the Social Security Administration signed an agreement with Mexico, which - if signed by Bush - could result in billions going to millions of illegal aliens.After a three and half year battle involving FOIA lawsuits, the TREA Senior Citizens League has finally received a copy of the agreement. Bush apologists might want to explain why this matter was handled with such secrecy. And, the MSM might want to explain why they weren't the ones filing the FOIA requests. Of course, the media will probably continue to ignore these matters.
The agreement hasn't taken effect yet. If Bush signs it, Congress will have 60 days during which they can vote to reject it. From the link:
The U.S. currently has 21 similar agreements in effect with other nations, which are intended to eliminate dual taxation for persons who work outside their country of origin. All of the agreements are with developed nations with economies similar to that of the U.S.Previously:
For example, a worker who turns 62 after 1990 generally needs 40 calendar quarters of coverage to receive retirement benefits. Under totalization agreements, workers are allowed to combine earnings from both countries in order to qualify for benefits. The Agreement with Mexico, like other totalization agreements, would allow workers to qualify with just six quarters, or 18 months, of U.S. coverage.
But Mexico's retirement system is radically different than that of other participating countries. For example, only 40 percent of non-government workers participate in Mexico's system, whereas 96 percent of America’s non-government workers do. In addition, the U.S. system is progressive, meaning lower wage earners get back much more than they put in; in Mexico, workers get back only what they put in, plus accrued interest.
The hidden surprise inside "guest" worker schemes
Status of Social Security totalization with Mexico?
"CFR's Plan to Integrate the U.S., Mexico and Canada"
Social security for illegal aliens meeting resistance
No Social Security for Illegal Aliens
Posted to Immigration at 12:43 PM | Comments (3)
